


Where There is Anger, There is Pain

by TheLostViking



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Vixx - Freeform, wontaek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-07-10 17:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6997054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLostViking/pseuds/TheLostViking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wonshik is an outcast at his school, but then he meets the new student, Taekwoon, and they become best friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In my experience, high school AU’s are usually written as if in an American high school. I’m not an American, so this makes no sense to me; so I’m trying my best to fit this story to the Korean school system. This goes for everything else as well.

With the encouraging look on his dad’s face fresh in memory, Taekwoon waited outside the classroom door with his heart beating, sweat forming on his back and palms clammy from nervousness. This school would be the last one. He had to make sure. He didn’t want to bother his dad with his own stupidity any more. His dad had enough business to bother himself with - he hated being one of them. But his dad would never blame him. He never did.

The muffled noise of the teacher he had been introduced to when arriving with his dad early in the morning to receive his schedule and do his final register, Mr. Cha, leaked through the classroom doors. Taekwoon had warmed up to him instantly, relieved to find out the teacher was young, cheerful and almost a little _too_ nice. He had been through a fair share of burned out, angry teachers that gave him judging looks when they saw his list of school tranfers and lacking grades. Mr. Cha had simply glanced at the documents and looked him in the eyes with an encouraging look, assuring him that he would no longer need to transfer schools. His dad had left with smile thanks to him.

“Now, everyone, today we got ourselves a new student in class! I hope you all will welcome him warmly.”

Mr. Cha popped his head back out in the hallway, giving him a brilliant smile, eyes disappearing. “You can come in now, student.” He smiled warmly, indicating him to enter. He nodded and entered with a beating heart.

It was not a big classroom, their class consisting of maybe 16 students in total; all boys as this was an all-boys school. Most of the students were looking at him in either mild interest or not looking at all when he lined up behind Mr. Cha’s desk and greeted the classroom. “Hi, my name is Jung Taekwoon.” He said, just loud enough for everyone to hear, so he didn’t have to repeat himself. He knew it was kind of customary to say something more, like; ‘my dad is a lawyer’ or ‘I’m interested in music’, but he wasn’t much of a speech-giver. He just hoped he would be able to go to school quietly this time.

“Very good Taekwoon, please take a seat.” Mr. Cha motioned towards the only free seat in the classroom, obviously the least popular one; front row, by the door. He had hoped to get a window seat, but such dreams had no hope when you entered school months after it started. Relieved they weren’t seated in pairs; he walked towards his seat and sat down as the teacher started class.

The boys seated around him glanced at him with curious eyes, but they smiled and seemed friendly enough. He looked around himself at them, observing. The one on his left was pretty skinny, tall, with facial features to be envied and short black hair styled in a way that seemed almost professional. His eyes became round as plates as he stared at Taekwoon a little shyly, a slight smile tugging the edge of his lips. The one behind him had bleached auburn, curly hair and glasses, making him look a little nerdy, but the crooked smile and playful glint in his eyes gave him away to be a jokester. The true nerd seemed to be the black haired one beside him, another kid with glasses who looked way younger than the rest of the class, already holding a pen in his hands and resting it on his notebook while waiting for something worth jotting down. He turned his attention back to the teacher as he remembered not bringing any notebook today. Flinching at his own inescapable stupidity, he closed his eyes and bit at his lip in annoyance.

As class ended, a glance at the schedule still lying ready on his desk, the only piece of paper he owned and now covered in messy notes around the edges, revealed the second period was self-study. The moment Mr. Cha left the room, half of the class rushed out of the room and he was surrounded by noise. Even the one who had been sleeping in the corner by the window had magically woken up at just the moment class ended, right before the bell rang, and left in a hurry. Staring blankly in front of himself, he was unsure of what to do when he had not received any tasks or homework to do yet. Soon his view of the wall in front of his was blocked by the three boys seated closest to him, friendly and curious looks on their faces. He looked up at them blankly, waiting for them to speak first.

It turned out the one with the pretty face was actually named Hongbin, the curly haired one was in fact Jaehwan and nerdy was indeed younger, pushed up in class due to brilliance, and introduced himself as Sanghyuk. “You can call me Hyuk, though.” He had said.

“So why did you move here?”

Taekwoon guessed it was a question impossible to avoid when new in class, but he didn’t have any intention in telling the truth. The lie rolled off his tongue easily. “My dad transferred.” They all nodded in understanding before moving on with the interrogation. He had been through this process several times. It was like reading off a script. The questions always the same.

“What does your dad do?” Sanghyuk had asked, as if reading his mental script word-by-word. This time he didn’t have to lie. “He’s a cop.” He answered. Saying it always made his chest warm up in pride. The three boys nodded in acknowledgement, and he recognized a glint of admiration in Sanghyuk’s eyes. His dad was an excellent detective, even though he was left with little time to spend with his son and four daughters. But he had never once transferred stations.

“So... What do you do? Like, on your spare time?” Jaehwan asked. As a high school student you didn’t get much free time, as you spend most days and most hours of the day in school, but when he _did_ have time he quite enjoyed any kind of sports. A trait most likely inherited from his dad. “I play soccer”.

“Ohh, none of us are into soccer, but Hongbin here is quite the basketball player, if you’re interested in that?” Jaehwan declared, indicating towards Hongbin, who nodded in confirmation. He looked suitable for basketball; his height over the average and strong-looking arms. He didn’t mind playing some basketball, but he wasn’t as good at it as soccer. “Sure.” He said with a shrug, but he was hoping the school would at least one soccer club he could get into. He had eyed the big grass field in front of the school with longing when his father drove past it to the main entrance earlier in the morning.

\--

Keeping up with his determination to keep things quiet, the first week of school passed without any major events. The three classmates were kind enough to show him around and inform him of their classroom rules and school regulations, not very different from those of his old high school. He had learned most of the names of the people in the classroom, and the class in general seemed like a very friendly and connected bunch. The only exception was a sleeping boy with bleached blonde hair in the corner, who no one seemed to pay attention to. And he didn’t talk to anyone either. He showed up to class quietly, sat in class quietly and left quietly. As if nobody could see him come and go.

Taekwoon only first noticed his presence in the classroom on his fourth day, when he had first showed up with the bleached blonde hair and Mr. Cha scolded him lightly for it. Apparently anything lighter than auburn was again school regulations, but the teacher only informed him of the rule – didn’t tell him to fix it. The day after he showed up in a hat covering the hair, but it only lasted one day before the showed up with his hair styled up in a cloud of yellow again. Taekwoon’s interest was awakened, as he found it amusing.  

\--

It was on the Monday of his second week he was first introduced to his quiet classmate. A student from another class suddenly came rushing into their classroom during self-study period, shouting “Hey! Wonshik is fighting again! On the rooftop!”. Everyone in the room had scattered out to see, and Taekwoon was dragged along by Jaehwan.

On the rooftop there was a lot of students, even from other classes, standing in a half circle around Wonshik and a big, buff student who looked like a 12th grader. Wonshik, however, seemed to have the upper hand. He was furious, Taekwoon could almost feel the anger from where he was standing, as he circled his victim with his arms raised. His lip was bruised, split but not bleeding, and his hair, that had been neatly styled the very same morning, was all over the place. The buff student was slightly limping, but seemed to have taken no damage to the face. Around them, people were cheering on the bigger boy, edging him on to finish up. No one seemed to be on Wonshik’s side. Around him the students that arrived with him were asking what the fight was about.

“I think he said something about Wonshik’s dad and he just snapped, just like that.”

He strained to hear more, but only heard annoyed murmurs from the classmates surrounding him.

“He’s always picking fights for nothing…”  
“Why can’t he just go to school quietly like everyone else?”  
“I bet he’s a psycho.”  
“I wish he would just leave and let us all live in peace…”

He blocked them out with a frown. So far Wonshik had attended school perfectly quiet as far as he knew, speaking and looking at absolutely nobody and always showing up in class. How did he obtain this reputation?

Thanks to his father teaching him, Taekwoon had a sense of justice. The trait continuously got him into trouble. He didn’t seem to have the ability to _not_ butt in to other people’s business. Quietly cursing himself and his inability to stay away, he felt his feet and body move him through the crowd of students and step between the two boys, facing Wonshik with a frown. Wonshik snapped out of his anger and his eyebrows rose in confusion as he looked Taekwoon right in the eyes. Wonshik was slightly taller than him, he realized.

“What are you doing?” Wonshik asked, bewildered. He dropped his arms to his sides and looked rather puzzled. He probably didn’t even recognize him as the new student in his class.

“Stop this, Wonshik.” Taekwoon said, trying to sound as reasonable as his dad used to when breaking up the fights between his sisters. Wonshik’s look turned offended and looked at him like he was a crazy person. “Who are you, exactly?” He asked, eyes squinting.

“I’m Taekwoon. I’m new in your class.” He kept his voice calm. His father had told him how to pacify people who were angry or irrational - calm was key. Wonshik had a moment of realization, for a moment almost looking cute as he pursed his lips into a perfect O. He nodded in acknowledgement and put his hand on Taekwoon’s shoulder and carefully pushed him sideways. “Nice to meet you, now move.” Taekwoon didn’t budge. Wonshik frowned, stepped back and lifted his arms back up in position. “I’ll hit you too” he warned. Taekwoon cocked an eyebrow, actually amused.

“I’m not afraid of you.” He wasn’t. He was confident he was fast enough to block him if he tried to hit him. This surprised Wonshik, it seemed. He was most likely not used to people standing up to him. He hesitated for a moment, before he moved to hit. “I warned y-“

“Why are you so angry, Wonshik?” Taekwoon cut him off before he could finish and deliver his blow. He didn’t say it loud enough for the people around to hear. It was another trick his dad had taught him, his words always clear in his memory.

“Angry kids always carry around some sort of pain, Taekwoon, and they’re always looking for something to let it out on.”

Wonshik froze at his words, something washing over him as he was left with his mouth open and eyes blinking. Taekwoon rested his own expression into a neutral look, relaxing. His dad was usually right.

Wonshik gathered himself pretty quickly, shutting his mouth into a tight scowl, dropping his arms with hands in tight fists. He looked at Taekwoon with something that wasn’t anger anymore, more like confusion, before he simply walked away, looking down, off the roof, leaving the crowd and victim behind. Taekwoon watched his back as he left, blocking out the sound of offending calls thrown at Wonshik by the students surrounding him. Behind him the buff student was shouting after him too, trying to follow, but Taekwoon gave him a warning look and the student cowered.


	2. Chapter 2

During lunch the next day, as Taekwoon sat alone at a table in the cafeteria waiting for the three boys standing in line to join him, that Wonshik sat down in front of him with his lunch tray, like it was the most natural thing to do. Taekwoon looked at him, puzzled, but didn’t say a word as he continued chewing his rice. Wonshik simply looked back at him, nodding a microscopic greeting before digging into his food. Around them people were staring and murmuring, and Taekwoon could see Jaehwan, Hongbin and Sanghyuk casting curious looks from where they were standing in line.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the three classmates moving to sit at a different table where they could observe what was happening as they ate in silence. Taekwoon felt the attention from the room, and how it made his skin burn uncomfortably. He didn’t enjoy being the center of attention, but tried to act as if everything was normal. Eventually looking up, Wonshik leaned forward and pointed towards him with his chopsticks while sporting an incredibly attractive smirk.

“You know, you’re an interesting guy.”

Taekwoon cocked his eyebrow in question, but didn’t stop eating, waiting for him to elaborate.

“What you did yesterday requires some guts.” He stated, voice light and friendly, breaking eye contact to pick up a piece on kimchi from his tray and eat it. Taekwoon waited a little before answering, watching the other chew. Not sure if Wonshik had decided that he was likeable or if this was going to end up in some sort of feud, he took his time analyzing the other’s body language. He looked more than friendly, and downright relaxed sitting with him. He shrugged lightly. “I’m kind of stupid like that.” He looked back down at his food as he answered, contemplating if he wanted kimchi or radish. He heard Wonshik chuckle and the side of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

“What did the guy say to make you so angry?” Taekwoon tried after another silent pause, his curiosity winning him over. Somehow he was interested in this guy. Liking how it seemed simple and comfortable to be with him. Wonshik looked at him for a long while before answering, as if he was analyzing him. His eyes looked him over. Taekwoon felt sweat forming on his back at the attention.

Eventually a sigh escaped the other. Whatever it was; he had passed the test.

“He was badmouthing my dad.” He looked down at his food when answering. Taekwoon knew that feeling. “What an asshole.” He said then, and Wonshik smiled fully at him for the first time, nodding in agreement. Taekwoon’s felt a kick in his chest.

“You should tell him that, instead of beating him up.” He smiled back with slight amusement. A friendly suggestion. Wonshik’s smile was replaced with a frown. “I’m not very good with words.” He muttered sadly and continued to eat the rest of his lunch in silence. Taekwoon understood him all too well.

\--

In the days that followed it soon became a routine for Wonshik to sit with Taekwoon during lunch. They would occasionally sit in silence the whole time, but it was in no way uncomfortable. They simply enjoyed each other’s silence, and they could both sense it. They would also be left alone, nobody daring to come speak to them or comment on Wonshik’s _first friend._ Sitting with Wonshik felt like recharging his batteries for Taekwoon. He could relax, not feel guilty for not talking, enjoy his food and be rested to return to class. Never before had he met a person who made him feel like this.

When back in the classroom he would be reunited with his three friendly classmates. Jaehwan, Hongbin and Hyuk didn’t speak to him about sitting with Wonshik instead of them, but had become more careful towards him after that first day. He assumed it was out of caution, as Wonshik didn’t seem very popular at all among his classmates with his rather violent reputation. They didn’t stop to speak with him in the classroom, at least, which he was grateful for. Despite them being loud and hyperactive, making him tired from time to time, he enjoyed their shenanigans as a spectator.

“Why did that 12th grader badmouth Wonshik’s dad anyway?” He asked them one day, not long after the fight incident. Jaehwan was the one to answer him; “It’s actually not his dad you know, it’s his stepdad. He’s the only car mechanic in town. There’s a rumor going around that he’s down sick a lot these days, so he hasn’t been able to keep up with work. A lot of jobs either delayed or even rejected. It seems like a lot of people are inconvenienced by it.”

“Why do a bunch of high school students even care about something like this? We can’t own or drive cars!” Hyuk shot in, and to Taekwoon’s surprise he seemed very annoyed. He didn’t expect them to care.

“They’re just being idiots. You know how they are… they always pick on Wonshik because he’s easy to aggravate.” Hongbin mumbled, not looking at Taekwoon as he spoke. All of them didn’t look at him then, and he understood that this wasn’t something that they agreed with but also didn’t want to mixed into. But he wanted to know more.

“Has it always been like this?”

Jaehwan chewed his lip slightly with guilt showing. “Ever since he started attending this school last year, I think. He never managed to make any friends, really.”

Taekwoon frowned. “Must have been lonely.” He murmured and they all nodded slowly.

\--

Taekwoon was left wondering what was the cause of Wonshik’s general anger towards the world, which seemed to be so apparent to everyone but him. With the exception of that one fight, Wonshik had been nothing but friendly and cheerful towards him, but he knew he was the only one receiving such treatment from the other. In class Wonshik would stay out of trouble, mostly sleeping at his desk or looking out of the window. He was even friendly with Mr. Cha, who seemed to have a soft spot for him – often walking up to speak to him after classes if he wasn’t able to escape first. Outside of class, however, he apparently got into fights very often. Taekwoon was never there to stop them after that first one he had witnessed, but rumors got around and sitting in front of Jaehwan, who seemed to be a major source of word-of-mouth, made him well-informed. Wonshik would also sport the occasional black-eye or even cuts in his face at times. Taekwoon was not the kind to worry about others, but Wonshik had his attention and he found himself being worried whenever he saw the other with a new mark on his face.

\--

One day during the second month since he started going to the school, Wonshik didn’t show up for the first time since his arrival. Taekwoon couldn’t help but stare at the empty desk in the corner; his absence not making much difference during class, but definitely unsettling to Taekwoon when he sat alone at their table during lunch. Jaehwan, Hongbin and Hyuk offered to join him, but he mumbled an excuse and left the cafeteria without touching his food. He soon found himself in front of the door to the teacher’s office, knocking the door three times. A teacher he didn’t know answered.

“Yes?” He asked, blocking the door with his body.

“Can I speak with Mr. Cha?” He asked, trying to sound as polite as possible. The teacher gave him a slight acknowledging smile and stepped aside so he could enter. “Hakyeon, a student’s here to see you!” He called as he shut the door behind Taekwoon.

The teacher’s office was rather big, and it seemed all the teachers had their desks in the same room. Mr. Cha walked out of another room within the office, most likely their own lunch room. He smiled warmly at Taekwoon, as always, and motioned him towards his own desk as he sat down in his chair and grabbed hold of another for him. He had pictures of kids on his desk, but no woman (and he had no ring). He caught him staring at the pictures. “They’re my nephews. Cute, aren’t they?” Taekwoon nodded honestly. He actually really liked children.

“So what’s bothering you today, Taekwoon?” He asked, putting on a more serious face. Taekwoon had been wondering about that himself, as he had kind of walked there while spacing out. He did have something that bothered him, though.

“Do you know why Wonshik isn’t at school?”

A sigh escaped his lips at that and a sad look washed over the teacher’s face, pity clear in his eyes. “His stepfather passed away in the hospital last night.” He said softly and sighed, shoulders hanging. Taekwoon frowned, feeling a hot sting in his stomach. _Is Wonshik okay?_

“Are you two close? I’ve heard you eat lunch together every day.” Mr. Cha asked him, looking hopeful. He really did care about Wonshik, Taekwoon realized.

“Kind of…” he said, hesitant. The teacher brightened and pushed on with enthusiasm. “The funeral starts tonight. Do you want to go? I can give you permission to go during school tomorrow, I’m sure he would be happy if you did.” His hand found his knee and squeezed lightly with a warm hand. _How is there a teacher this nice?_ He thought to himself as he studied the man’s kind and worried eyes. “Yeah, sure, I’ll go…” He murmured. Would he be happy? He kind of doubted it, really. What difference would he make?

“You see… Wonshik doesn’t have anyone else but his stepfather, so he must be feeling very lonely right now. If you go, I’m sure it’ll help him feel at least a little better, don’t you think?” It was like Mr. Cha had read his mind. “I’m going there tonight to make sure he eats and take care of himself, so don’t worry about him too much.” He smiled reassuringly, giving his knee another squeeze before letting go.

\--

AN: Wonshik’s stepdad’s funeral is a traditional Korean funeral.

\--

The next morning Taekwoon was standing in front of the funeral hall, dressed in a black suit he had not worn for many years. It was tight around his shoulders and the legs were too short, but he hadn’t wanted to ask his father to borrow his suit instead. He felt incredibly uncomfortable, and rather nervous. He needed several minutes to gather himself before stepping into the building.

There was no one else there to pay their respects this early in the morning, so he found Wonshik sitting alone beside the shrine put up with a picture of his stepfather and a whole lot of flowers wreaths. He looked so crushed; head hanging low, shoulders slouching. Taekwoon entered the room, paid his respect to the father, and sat down beside Wonshik in silence. Wonshik looked at him as he sat down, a faint smile barely visible on his lips.

“Teach said you would come.” He said, voice a little rough. Taekwoon hummed in answer. They shared a comfortable silence, like during their lunches, before Taekwoon decided to start a conversation.

“I heard he was your stepdad?” He started carefully. He wondered if the question was too personal, not sure if Wonshik felt they were that close yet. But Wonshik nodded. “Yeah, but he was a good guy. I never had a real dad before he came in and swooped my mom off her feet.” He smiled a little at the memory. Another short silence ensued, as Wonshik looked at the picture again.

“He used to ask me that, you know.” He said looking down at his fingers, voice a little shaky and rough. Taekwoon looked at him in question: “What?”

“What you said.” He mimicked what must have been his voice. “Why are you so angry, Wonshik?” or “What are you so angry at, Wonshik?”

Wonshik smiled at him weakly, eyes red and shiny.

“He used to tell me that the world is beautiful and full of life and opportunity. ‘You just have to reach out and grab it!’, ‘Nothing comes for free’… stuff like that.” He made gestures as me mimicked the words. Taekwoon smiled as he did.

“So, why are you?” He asked.

“Hm?” Wonshik looked at him in question.

“Angry.”

They looked each other in the eye for a few heartbeats, and he could see Wonshik’s eyes starting to water just before he casted his look back to his hands. He released a shaky breath and he rubbed his fingers absentmindedly.

“It’s just unfair, you know. Life. How I was born to be what I am.”

Taekwoon frowned at that. “What’s so wrong with being you?”

“My family’s all gone, I can’t study for shit, and I’m-“ He stopped himself before going any further. “Nevermind. It’s just a lot of crap dumped on one single person. What did I ever do to deserve it?” He looked up at Taekwoon at that last sentence. He looked miserable, like there was no hope for him. He was all alone now.

“I guess you’re right...” Taekwoon murmured, and put his hand on his knee to give it a squeeze, letting him know that he wasn’t entirely alone as long as he was there.

They sat together in silence for hours, watching various people that knew Wonshik’s stepfather paying their respects and offering small pep talks and promises of help to Wonshik.

“You don’t have to stay, Taekwoon. I’m okay, really.” Wonshik had told him after the day had turned dark.

“I’ll stay if it’s okay with you.” He answered simply. He wanted to stay. He wanted to support Wonshik. Most of all he wanted the other to feel better, but for now being there for him was the best he could do.

“Thanks.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mention of cancer, somewhat detailed info related to sickness (non-vixx characters)

Wonshik had a limited amount of people he was willing to be close with. At the very moment his list involved only two people – His dad and his teacher, Mr. Cha – and he saw nothing wrong in that.

Mr. Cha was in Wonshik’s eyes the strangest man he believed he would every meet. As a teacher he had nothing but respect for the man, and he had taken to liking him immediately upon meeting him for the first time. He was bright, kind and most of all; he never judged Wonshik for his actions and poor grades, _ever._ He had showered him with nothing but care and support from day one, and while it was a bit annoying, he was infinitely grateful. 

His father, actually his stepfather, had earned his respect over a very long amount of time, in which he had treated his mother with utmost respect and care, and by not abandoning him when said mother had given up her fight against the cruel brain tumor that had poisoned her mind. He had come to accept and later respect the man to the point of considering him his real father, and had imagined a long life of them together in the mechanics business.

But life seemed to be extra cruel to the likes of Wonshik.

His father had always had bad lung capacity, often coughing simply from climbing the stairs from his garage to the upstairs apartment, but he had always blamed it on his younger years as a smoker – a habit he had quit in order to be allowed to date Wonshik’s mother. They had never taken the handicap much seriously, until the day Wonshik had returned from school to find his father could no longer climb the stairs to their home. They argued for almost an hour before the man was finally willing to climb into an ambulance and be admitted to the closest hospital.

Wonshik had been sent home at 9 pm in order to be able to attend school the day after. At midnight he received the call.

While he had had plenty of time to prepare for a life without his mother, Wonshik had never imagined he would wake up one day and no longer have anyone to take care of him. Nobody that knocked on his door so hard it rattled in the frame, telling him that he wasn’t stupid enough to skip school.

Instead it was the careful knock of his teacher that had brought him back to reality, Mr. Cha’s kind eyes almost enough to make him crumble right there and then. But he kept himself in place, letting himself stay hollow and unfeeling while the teacher drove him to the funeral home, trying to make him eat the breakfast he had placed in his lap after he sat down in the passenger seat. He couldn’t eat it, no matter how delicious it smelled.

With the promise of returning to wrap up the funeral, Mr. Cha had left for work – full of excuses, the school principal’s hard ‘NO’ the only reason he could not stay for the whole thing – and Wonshik was left to deal with his stepfather’s friends and distant relatives coming to pay their respects.

It was almost all people he had rarely or never met before. His father had spared him the agony of meeting his relatives, who had strongly opposed his marriage to a both divorced _and_ dying woman, and Wonshik understood why when their judging stares met his hollow gaze. He didn’t let it get to him, feeling rather smug in fact – being the one rightful to actually stand here and greet all his father’s visitors, despite his lack of blood relation.

The exceptions were his father’s closer friends, regular customers and Detective Jung. Wonshik had in fact actually never _met_ Detective Jung, but he had heard of him from his father a number of times. His father had great respect for the police detective, and had told Wonshik sternly to treat the detective’s son well after hearing he had transferred to Wonshik’s school. Being told that the same evening as he had actually noticed Jung Taekwoon for the first time from him breaking up his fight with a 12th year, his interest had been awakened.

Detective Jung was without doubt Taekwoon’s father, his appearance, attitude, hell- even the overall _aura_ resembled his quiet classmate. Taekwoon was in fact slightly taller than his father, but the older man donned a much bigger physique. No doubt engaged in some kind of exercise beside being a detective. His face was similar but much older, and features not as soft as his son’s. The eyes on the other hand were just the same. He had greeted the detective by name without hesitation.

“I’m honored you bothered to come, Detective Jung. My father would be so happy.” He had said with as much joy he could manage. The detective had clearly been moved by it, and greeted Wonshik with a tight handshake and pat to the shoulder.

“You father was a great man, kid, I’m so sorry to see him go like this.” He had answered with sincerity. Wonshik’s chest tightened and he found himself unable to respond, settling with a 90 degree bow instead, which was quickly cut off by the man stopping him before he could bend all the way. “Please, Wonshik.” He huffed with a low voice, trying to make him straighten up again. Wonshik made an effort to not make eye contact.

“Please come see me at the station if there’s anything at all troubling you, kid. This can’t be easy for you. Me and the others will help you any way we can. We owe you that much.” His hand was back on Wonshik’s shoulder as he talked, warm and solid. Comforting. Reminding him of Taekwoon and how it felt safe and calm to sit with him during lunch.

Wonshik nodded in return, looking down. The warm hand disappeared and he watched as the man paid his respect to his father’s shrine and then bowing to him before leaving. He caught himself feeling the same kind of admiration for the man his father had reflected to him when he was alive, as he watched him leave.


	4. Chapter 4

When Wonshik returned to school a few days after the funeral, Mr. Cha had Taekwoon moved from his inconvenient corner seat by the door to the window seat in front of Wonshik. Wonshik acted as his usual self, either sleeping or staring out the window through class, despite the change. Taekwoon found himself staring out the window as well, now that he finally had one. The classroom had a wonderful view of the soccer field, which made him drift back to the days when he had a soccer team to play with. Legs restlessly jumping, he would miss the entire classes to the field.

Mr. Cha had asked him the day before if he could try to help Wonshik a little with his studies, which had made him laugh. “Teach, I’m a pretty crappy student, I don’t think I can teach him anything.” He had admitted. The teacher had looked a little scandalized at that, telling him “You’re not a crappy student as long as you at least try to learn, Taekwoon.” He did try to learn, but knowledge seemed to peel off of him like dead skin. He had better hopes in sports. Plus, he had a real hard time concentrating.

The day reached a self-study period, and instead of leaving like he usually would, Wonshik stayed at his desk with his head resting on his arms like he was sleeping. Taekwoon turned around sideways on his seat to face him.

“Wonshik” He called quietly, knowing the other was only pretending. A simple murmur of acknowledgement answered him.

“Have you eaten?” He asked. It had come to Taekwoon’s attention that Wonshik’s current situation left him living alone in his parent’s apartment above his father’s mechanic shop, which he apparently had inherited along with everything else his father had owned. _Does he even know how to cook?_

Wonshik just answered with a shrug, which Taekwoon read as a no. “Wait here, I’ll fetch you some food, okay?” He told him, getting up and leaving before the other could make any protest. He walked straight to the teacher’s office, knocking the door three times when he arrived. The same teacher as last time opened the door and gave Taekwoon one quick look before calling “Hakyeon! Your student’s here again.” and letting him in. He bowed shortly in thanks.

“Hey Taekwoon, what’s up?” Mr. Cha asked him cheerfully, fetching another chair for him as well as sitting down by his own desk. Taekwoon didn’t sit down. “I was wondering if you have some food I can give to Wonshik? I’ve been listening to his stomach rumble all day.” He asked. The young teacher’s eyebrows flew up under the bangs he had covering his entire forehead.

“Goodness! That kid probably doesn’t even know how to cook!” He looked quite scandalized, like he was surprised he had not realized this fact himself before, and got up to move with hurry towards the teacher’s break room. He returned with a lunchbox wrapped in a really colorful cloth, neatly tied at the top.

“My Mom made this for me, make sure he enjoys it.” He smiled as he handed over the box. Taekwoon gave him a grateful smile and a short bow before powerwalking back to the classroom. Self-study was going to end soon and Taekwoon could not listen to the sound of Wonshik’s stomach any longer.

\--

“Oh man, this is the best food I’ve ever ate in my life!” Wonshik declared with a pleased smile, mouth so full of food it was a miracle he could speak. Even so he stuffed even more into his mouth, humming happily as he chewed. Taekwoon smiled as he watched him eat, arms and head resting on the back of his chair.

“Teach gave you his own lunch, so you better thank him later.” He informed the other. Wonshik nodded as he stuffed even more food into his mouth, still not done swallowing what he already had in there.

“Thanks a lot, Taekwoon.” He thanked him, smiling, a little bit of rice flying out of his mouth as he spoke. Taekwoon made a grimace, dodging the rice flying towards his face.

“Whatever Wonshik, your stomach was annoying me so much I thought I was going to go crazy.”

“Do you want some?” Wonshik’s words were barely understandable – he never stopped chewing. Taekwoon shook his head, trying not to laugh at how the other looked with cheeks filled with food. He bit his lips, trying to stop his smile from spreading, dipping his head down to hide his head. With a cough and a deep breath he pulled himself together. He looked back up and Wonshik was staring at him, still chewing, cheeks so full they were almost bursting, and Taekwoon could not help but bark a laugh, startling the entire classroom. Wonshik included.

Taekwoon hid his face in his arms, shoulders shaking as he silenced his laugh but his body refused to stop laughing.

“What?” He heard Wonshik ask in confusion, finally having swallowed the food he had and being too distracted to refill his mouth. Taekwoon didn’t look up and just shook his head. He could feel the burn of classmates staring at his back. He didn’t move until Mr. Cha entered the classroom a couple of minutes later and started their next class.

Throughout the whole class he couldn’t help but think how ridiculously cute Wonshik had looked.

\--

Their ever increasing interaction with each other had apparently become a source of worry among his former seatmates as they walked up to talk to him a couple of days later, Wonshik currently out of the room. He had been looking out the window, staring longingly at the soccer field and some class having gym there, when they all pulled up some chairs and circled his desk. He turned to look at them silently, waiting for them to speak up. He could see on their faces they were full of questions. Sanghyuk just about looked like he would burst - eyes full of curiosity. But Jaehwan was always first to speak.

“Sooo…” He started, dragging it out. “Are you guys friends now?”

Taekwoon shrugged. He supposed they were. They talked, joked and laughed together like friends, but had yet to meet outside the classroom or cafeteria to hang out. He didn’t even have his number, he suddenly realized.

“Isn’t he all angry and shit with you though, like everyone else?” Sanghyuk had finally cracked and blurted out. It sounded harsh, but it was clear he realized how it sounded after saying it.

“Not really.” Taekwoon answered frankly. Wonshik could be a little quick on the trigger at times if in a bad mood, but it was usually easily solved by feeding the boy. But he knew it was because Wonshik found him comfortable to be with. Other people - not so much. He hitched his breath several times before speaking, planning his words carefully. He looked them in the eyes one by one when he finally spoke.

“I think the fact that you’re all so scared of his every move is not helping. You’re all making him feel alienated from you guys. He hasn’t actually touched anyone in his class, had he? Must be pretty frustrating to be branded a bully, even before anyone tries to get to know him properly.”

After being at the school for a while, he had come to realize how people were treating Wonshik, despite him not actually hurting – or even interacting – with his classmates. The only people he fought with were older students who found his short temper oh-so-hilarous.

“There’s a reason for that.” Jaehwan had defended.

“Oh yeah? His reputation?” Taekwoon challenged, cocking his eyebrow at them.

“Well, yeah.” Jaehwan was a little more hesitant now, no longer looking straight at Taekwoon. The two others mimicked him, staring at their shoes.

“Which he got after fighting a bully on his first day of school. Someone who picked on him first, even.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.

Wonshik had told him that the reputation of him being a fighter had started on his first day transferred to the school, two years ago; an older bully had picked on him and Wonshik had fought back - and lost. After that day; bullies knew he would fight back despite not really having a chance, much to their amusement, and would pick on him whenever they were bored.

“…Yeah.” Jaehwan said then, getting the point. Taekwoon looked at all three of them one on one as they slowly reached realization. He nodded, satisfied.

There we go.

“Just treat him like a normal person and he’ll come around.” He said, and left them so he could find Wonshik, wherever he had gone to. He wanted his phone number.

\--

He found him on the rooftop of the school, lying on the concrete flooring in the sun and listening to music on his phone with his eyes closed and a content expression. It was late spring, summer starting to make its stand with more and more hot days and nights. Taekwoon sat down beside him, startling him a little as his hand flew up to pull off his headphones and upper body springing up to a sitting position at lightning speed. He released a breath of relief when he saw it was only Taekwoon and lied back down, leaving the headphones around his neck.

“What are you listening to?” Taekwoon asked, resting his hands on his knees and looking at the blue sky. It was a little chilly, a cold breeze preventing the sun from keeping them warm. But it felt fresh to the face, the fresh air giving feeling of clearance.

“Kanye West.” Wonshik answered. Taekwoon looked at him in interest. “You like American hip-hop?”

“Yeah, you too?” Wonshik opened a single eye to squint at him, the sun blinding him slightly. Taekwoon nodded, smiling.

“Have you heard of Trey Songz?” Wonshik shook his head no.

“You should check him out, he’s pretty good.” He looked back at the sky, closing his own eyes, letting the sun warm him. Sighing. He felt calm.

“Okay” Wonshik answered, closing his eyes and sighing contently as well.


	5. Chapter 5

“Is it okay if we sit here?” Jaehwan asked the very next day, flanked by a smiling Sanghyuk and Hongbin. Wonshik’s head jerked up in surprise, body tense and ready in alarm, but Taekwoon had expected them to appear some time or another. He looked at Wonshik with a suggestive brow. Eyes catching Taekwoon’s, he calmed down.

“Well?” He urged on when Wonshik only stared at him in confusion, suggesting that this was Wonshik’s decision to make. An inner conflict was apparent in Wonshik’s eyes before he huffed and finally answered with a shrug and “sure”, looking down.

The three sat down beside the two, Jaehwan and Hongbin beside Taekwoon and Sanghyuk beside Wonshik. Wonshik stayed silent for the entire meal, not looking up, shoulders tense, only listening to the casual conversation between the three new boys and Taekwoon’s occasional comments. By the end of the meal, his shoulders seemed to relax a little, Taekwoon noticed. But he was still avoiding looking at the others, occasionally giving Taekwoon a glance before returning it to his food.

He had been afraid Wonshik would simply get up and leave, avoiding the situation completely, but he was happy when he stayed in his seat despite being visibly uncomfortable. The three newcomers kept their conversation light and casual, throwing some glances at Wonshik but not actually addressing him in any way. At least they didn’t act like he would jump them, which had been his biggest concern. They all finished their meals in peace and moved back to the classroom.

\--

It was when all the classes ended, Taekwoon’s mind hazed and tired and feeling more ready to go home than ever, that Wonshik had tugged his sleeve when they were the only two left in the classroom. His fingers withdrew from the sleeve immediately when Taekwoon stopped moving away from him. Taekwoon turned to look at Wonshik in question, but he wouldn’t look at him. Hand coming up to rub at his neck, he seemed to be worrying about what to say. Taekwoon felt himself melt.

“What is it?” He asked carefully, leaning on a desk to make sure the other knew he wasn’t in a hurry to leave.

Another few moments of worrying.

“I… I just wanted to say that if you want to sit with Jaehwan and his friends, I fine sitting alone, you know.” He finally said, slowly, dragging the words while keeping his gaze on his feet. Taekwoon stared at him in utter confusion.

“What?”

“Just… you know…” He hesitated, a blush creeping around his neck. “I don’t want to keep you from having other friends, that’s all.” He huffed, clearly uncomfortable.

Taekwoon’s chest felt tight. His head hurt. His pulse had risen and was beating hard against his cranium. He clenched his jaw, gripping the desk he was leaning on tightly.

“Wonshik.” He said, more strictly than he had intended. It made Wonshik finally look up at him and Taekwoon could see all the worry and insecurity in his eyes. It made Taekwoon’s hands loosen their grip and his jaw unclench, but only made his heart beat faster.

“They came to sit with _us._ Me _and_ you. Both of us.” He wanted to be as clear as possible. Wonshik still looked confused, but eventually his worried face turned into a rather dumb one as he digested the words.

“Huh.” He ended up saying, having no further comment. Taekwoon watched as the side of Wonshik’s mouth twitched slightly into a lopsided smile and affection washed over him. Overwhelmed and hiding his face by looking at the floor only, he sprang up from the desk and waved at Wonshik before turning to leave. Running away.

“See you tomorrow!”

“Yeah!” Wonshik answered with a shout, Taekwoon already out of view.

Mind racing, his legs guided him home until he eventually realized he was standing in his own room, heart still racing.

Damnit.

\--

Just past midnight that evening Taekwoon was awakened from his near-sleep by his phone ringing. It was his father, who was still at work.

“Hey Dad.” He said into the phone groggily, rubbing at his eyes. He had been so close to sleep.

“Hey. Sorry to wake you up, but Mr. Kim the mechanic’s son is here and he keeps calling your name.” Taekwoon shot up from his bed. “Are you guys friends?” His father asked, sounding a little bewildered. He could almost hear him smile, hoping that indeed his son had made friends again. In the background he could hear the sound of metal door being shaken, and something that sounded very much like Wonshik shouting.

“YAH! I WANT MY PHONECALL!”

His dad sighed. Taekwoon flinched. He rested the phone on his shoulder, got up from bed and started dressing hurriedly. Burning regret was pooling in his chest. He felt sorry for running away from Wonshik in the classroom. He wished he had asked him to hang out. Instead he had chickened out. Just because his damned heart acted up again.

“I’ve told him that I already called his teacher, but he just won’t shut up about wanting to call you.” He sounded tired but surprisingly not annoyed. But Taekwoon could easily picture him rubbing his forehead, as he always did when something was stressing him out.

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a few Dad. Tell him I’m on my way.” He said and hung up, rushing out of the apartment while pulling on a sweater.

When he arrived at the station, which was a short walk from where he and his father lived, their teacher was seated in front of an officer and Wonshik hanging heavily against the door of a cell, arms hanging on the outside and forehead leaning between two bars. His head lifted when Taekwoon entered, two red marks from the bars on either side of his forehead showing.

“Ohh? He’s here!” He shouted and smiled brightly. Mr. Cha turned in his seat to see and broke into a relieved smile. Taekwoon bowed shortly in greeting and moved over to Wonshik without pause.

“You really came!” Wonshik exclaimed brightly. He looked like shit, his clothes dirtied, face bruised and flushed and he reeked of alcohol. He was even still in his school uniform.

“What the hell are you doing here, Wonshik?” He asked. Wonshik just smiled at him, eyes drooping sleepily.

“You were worried about me.” He grinned and chuckled.

“Well, yeah.” Taekwoon answered, snorting.

“That’s nice.” Wonshik slurred.

“He’s been doing quite a bit of underage drinking, and we had to pull him off another student from your school.” His father said as he walked up to them. Taekwoon winced. _Fighting again._ He had hoped he wouldn’t do that anymore. He huffed at himself, feeling stupid for thinking his presence would have made a difference. He gave his father an apologetic look. “Thanks for calling me, Dad.”

Wonshik blinked slowly, moping as memory jumbled back in place. Blushing furiously he bowed towards Taekwoon’s father.

“I’m sorry I bothered you Mr. Jung.” He shouted out, sounding like a soldier caught doing wrong, staring intently at his shoes but eventually losing his balance and stumbling sideways. Taekwoon’s father just chuckled at him, opening the cell door and waving Wonshik towards him. He walked hesitantly towards him, and as soon as he was within reach his hand reached out to ruffle Wonshik’s white blonde hair. Wonshik flinched as if getting hit, then stilled at the action, a little stunned.

“It’s okay kid. Just don’t show up here like this again.” He said, then walked over to their teacher to talk, motioning for Taekwoon to help out with the lack of balance in the other.

Taekwoon gave Wonshik a flick on the forehead. “Why did you fight again, you dumbass?” He tried sounding strict. Wonshik’s hand shot up to his forehead as he yelped in pain, but he didn’t look up.

“They were talking about my dad…” He said pitifully. Shoulders hanging and leaning his body on the cell door again. Taekwoon’s annoyance disappeared in an instant, feeling his insides melting together again. Now that those kids knew his weakness, they had an infinite source of fun it seemed. His pulse rising slightly, he frowned in annoyance. Not having anything to say, he simply sat down in front of the cell and waited in silence for Mr. Cha to finish the paperwork.

“Promise me you won’t go out and drink anymore, please?” Mr. Cha ordered as they walked out of the station, Wonshik able to walk away with a paid settlement between him and the student he had attacked and a warning from Taekwoon’s father.

“Yes, Teach…” He answered the teacher, voice giving away how tired he was. It was already 2 AM. The teacher gave him a pat on the shoulder and turned towards Taekwoon who was supporting Wonshik by the arm on the other side. “Please take him home with you, Taekwoon. I already asked your dad and he said it was alright. Make sure he drinks a lot of water before you go to sleep, alright?” Taekwoon nodded in answer and started leading Wonshik towards his home.

\--

“Where are we?” Wonshik looked around confusingly after Taekwoon sat him down on his bed and started untying his shoes. Wonshik was clearly on the brink of passing out from the alcohol he had consumed, constantly wandering out of consciousness.

“We’re at my house.” He said as he moved to pull off his shoes and socks. Pulling Wonshik’s leg, he fell backwards onto the bed quite hard, but he didn’t seem to mind and immediately grabbed for the sheets.

“Your bed is nice.” He said, sighing after settling despite his legs hanging off the edge.

“Water.” He thought out loud when he suddenly remembered the teacher’s words, and got up on his feet to fetch a bottle from the kitchen.

“Don’t fall asleep yet.” He got a grunt in return.

He was able to force Wonshik to drink half a bottle of water and a painkiller before he refused to drink anymore and turned to the side, facing the wall. Taekwoon stripped down to his boxers and joined him, back facing Wonshik’s, pulling the covers out from underneath him and then over the both of them.

“Night, Wonshik.” He mumbled, but the other was already starting to snore quietly.

He could only hope the other wouldn’t hear his heart beating as loudly as it sounded in his own ears as he felt the heat coming from the body behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

Taekwoon woke up flat out on his stomach the next morning, hitting the alarm on his nightstand blindly with a heavy hand. He tried to move, but something heavy was holding him down. He tried to lift himself, and was startled to hear a grunt above him. He shocked out of bed, falling on his ass on the floor, only to see Wonshik spread out widely. Memories from the night before flashed through his mind and he frowned worriedly.

Wonshik was snoring loudly; it was really a miracle Taekwoon hadn’t awakened any sooner. He got up from the floor, rubbing his now sore butt, and walked out to wash up before waking the unfortunate drunkard of a friend he had dragged home. _Where did he even get alcohol from anyway?_

His house was empty, his father most likely sleeping from working all night and all his sisters moved out, his mother living with his pregnant sister for the time being, leaving it quiet and comfortable – except for Wonshik’s snoring in the distance and the humming of the fridge. Taekwoon loved the silence and, despite not being much of a morning person, loved enjoying long, slow morning with breakfast and coffee all alone. He made a detour into the kitchen to turn on the coffee machine on his way to the bathroom, waiting for the smell of delicious coffee to fill his nostrils before moving on to shower.

When he returned not long after, towel around his waist and another on his head, hand rubbing it dry as he walked to see if the coffee was ready. He inhaled the delicious smell and felt immediate calm. Filling two mugs and carrying them with him to the bedroom, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of happiness stir within. Wonshik was still asleep, but no longer snoring, having moved from being spread all over to being curled into a ball up against the wall.

“Wonshik.” Taekwoon tried, but earned no reaction from the boy. He set down the two mugs and pulled on a pair of sweatpants before he sat on the bed, reaching out to nudge his side. “Hey, wake up.” He tried again, poking his ribs. That earned him a groan, but no further reaction. “Wonshik!” He tried a little louder, grabbing his shoulder to turn him towards him. He didn’t want to wake his father in the process, if Wonshik’s snoring hadn’t already.

“Hmn?” Wonshik let out a weak sound, turning his head towards him with his eyes closed. Even so; he looked really confused. Taekwoon held his hand flat out and smacked him on the chest, the sound making it sound a lot harder than it was. But it turned out to be very effective, as Wonshik shot up with a shout of pain and surprise.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” He shouted out, not noticing Taekwoon beside him. He looked down on his chest and rubbed it with his hand, bewildered. Then he looked at Taekwoon and looked even more confused. “Why are you in my room?”

Taekwoon chuckled breathily, grabbing one of the coffee mugs to hand over to Wonshik. “This is my room, stupid.” Wonshik frowned and looked at the mug, shaking his head. “I don’t drink coffee.” Taekwoon shrugged and sipped the mug himself.

Wonshik looked around himself, and then at Taekwoon. “Why am I in your room? And why does my head hurt so much?” He rubbed the back of his neck as he asked, looking like he was in pain. “Did you hit my head as well?”

“You don’t remember?” Taekwoon asked, amused. Wonshik looked at him in question.

“You got pretty drunk yesterday, I guess. And you got into a fight again, stupid.”

The immediate flow of memories flashing before Wonshik’s eyes was almost visible to Taekwoon as he watched in bemusement while sipping his precious coffee. He flinched several times, eyes looking far away, taking a minute or two to come back to reality. He looked at Taekwoon with wide eyes, blushing heavily. Then he groaned and fell backwards on the bed, hiding himself under the covers.

“Oh my God…” He whined. Taekwoon laughed out loud, patting his butt with sympathy. “Don’t worry, Mr. Cha made sure you had no severe consequences.”

He got up from the bed, grabbing the second coffee mug. “We need to leave for school in 30 minutes.” He said, and walked out of the room. He could hear Wonshik’s agonizing groans out in the kitchen.

“I don’t think I will survive school with this headache.” He heard him say. Taekwoon chuckled. “Sorry Wonshik, but I kind of promised Mr. Cha to make sure you don’t skip.” Another groan sounded and Taekwoon smiled around his cup.

\--

Wonshik spent the entire day in pain, his headache never giving him any mercy despite the medicine their teacher had fed him. He spent most of the time in class either sleeping or groaning quietly, rubbing his temples. His face had taken a toll from the fight the day before, black eye on his right side and a slight cut in his lip on his left. Taekwoon didn’t want to know how his body looked, but could guess by how the other moved when they walked to school that his ribs had taken at least one blow as well. He wondered if Wonshik had been about to lose again. It seemed he usually did, judging by the rumors.

Even more rumors had surfaced upon Wonshik’s arrival at school with a black eye. Thankfully it seemed nobody knew about the drinking, but they all understood what the blue mark on his face meant. Quiet whispers and not-so-subtle looks poisoned their classroom, but Wonshik never looked up long enough to notice. Even so, Taekwoon stared them all down if he caught someone staring.

He had worried that Jaehwan, Hongbin and Sanghyuk had been scared away by the rumors and wouldn’t sit with them in lunch again, ruining his plan, but was pleasantly surprised when the three sat down like nothing had happened. He hummed a pleased sound while taking a bite of his food, earning a look from Wonshik.

“Trying on some new makeup there, Wonshik?” Jaehwan asked to start the conversation once everyone was seated. Taekwoon almost spit out his food in a startled laugh. He held it in, but his shoulders shook in amusement as he looked at Wonshik. Hongbin looked at Jaehwan in alarm, Sanghyuk in bemusement. Wonshik stopped eating and looked at Jaehwan for a second before nodding with a slight smile. Jaehwan took it as a sign to continue, and Taekwoon could barely hold himself back from hugging him.

“How about you try making it even next time, ey?” He grinned so his teeth were showing, friendly eyes and all. Wonshik looked at him, slightly puzzled, before chuckling. “I’ll try.” He answered shyly, smiling very slightly. Taekwoon felt warmth all over.

“But seriously though, are you okay?” Hongbin asked after a short silence. Wonshik looked confused and Taekwoon could only smile at him warmly, wanting to tell him ‘I told you so’.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Wonshik grumbled with a slight blush after getting over the initial confusion.

Leaving it at that, they left him in peace without bothering him with further questions about the injuries, despite their very apparent curiosity, and chatted on about their weekend plans and after school activities.

“Did you want to join the basketball club, Taekwoon?” Hongbin asked him. He thought about it a little, as he initially wanted to join a soccer club but also how it would be convenient to have a friend in the club as well.

“I can give it a try. I haven’t played it much, mostly soccer.” He answered after considering. Hongbin smiled a dazzling smile and Taekwoon could only blink like he had been blinded. “You can come tomorrow if you want? We practice two times a week.” He nodded in confirmation.

“Is there a soccer club though?” It was what he preferred after all. He could always befriend his teammates. The other all shook their heads negative. “There used to be one, but too many members graduated and too few freshmen joined.” Jaehwan explained. Taekwoon couldn’t hide his disappointment.

\--

“I’ll play soccer with you.” He heard Wonshik speak quietly during their first period after lunch. He turned to pretend borrowing an eraser. “Really?” Wonshik nodded. “On the weekends, if you want. I always wanted to learn.” He smiled a crooked smile that made him look really attractive. Taekwoon stole his eraser and turned with a slight blush.

“Ok.” He spoke after turning.

\--

Taekwoon had busy weekends. When he was younger, his father had worried a lot about his son’s explosive temper and had from early on enrolled him into martial arts so he could learn to contain and control it. After trying out various activities, Taekwoon had landed on boxing, which had worked wonderfully and proved to be quite enjoyable. Thus his weekends were spent in the gym, Friday night to Sunday. Still, he could not say no when Wonshik offered to practice soccer on Saturdays.

“Have you played soccer before?” He asked when they met up the following Saturday evening. He was exhausted from spending the entire morning in the gym, but seeing Wonshik and feeling the soccer field grass give in to his weight gave him the energy he needed. They had met up at the school soccer field, open to the neighborhood on weekends. Even so, the field was completely deserted.

Wonshik rubbed his neck again. “Not really.” Taekwoon smiled. “I’ll teach you.” Wonshik lit up into a smile.

“Firstly…” Taekwoon started, kicking away the ball Wonshik had brought. Brand new and shining. His eyes twinkled in mischief and Wonshik raised a brow. “We warm up!” He shouted and threw himself into a fast run away from Wonshik and towards the track surrounding the soccer field.

“Hey!” He heard Wonshik shout behind him and he laughed out loud, chest bubbling with joy. “Wait up!” He was far away from him now, so he slowed down to a frisky jog.

“Taekwoon!” Closer now. He slowed down a little more, allowed the other to catch up.

“You’re really-“ Wonshik breathed heavily as he came up to his side. “fast.” Taekwoon smiled at him innocently, secretly really pleased for being in better shape than the other. Oh how he loved winning.

They jogged around the track until Wonshik begged for mercy and Taekwoon had started huffing slightly, barely affected by the slow tempo they had been keeping. He patted Wonshik’s back encouragingly as the other rested his hands on his knees, catching his breath. “We’ve barely started” He said teasingly, earning a whine and then a chuckle from the other.

They practiced on for another hour, Taekwoon teaching a very green and comically clumsy Wonshik the basics of handling the soccer ball. Taekwoon could not remember laughing as much as he did that day, Wonshik constantly drawing out smiles and laughs from him, complaining how the other enjoyed his pain way too much.

Exhausted and panting, they ended up on their backs, side by side, on the field as the clock turned to eleven pm and the lights illuminating the field turned off.

Fumbling with his phone for a little while, Wonshik eventually turned on some music Taekwoon did not recognize and sighed in content, closing his eyes as he lay the phone down between them. Taekwoon turned his head to the side to watch him as he listened to the soothing song, something acoustic and English that he did not understand.

He looked at Wonshik in wonder. How such a good-natured kid could aquire such a rumor was beyond him. But granted, he had yet to see Wonshik properly angry. He had not really witnessed it upon their first proper meeting. He knew himself how surprised parents and friend had been when he was young, when such a quiet and mild child as himself exploded into rage when someone pushed the wrong button. He knew how hard it was to control when you did not know yourself what was happening. He was so lucky to have been introduced to martial arts, and learning how to control his feelings when he needed to. He wished the same for Wonshik.

 _One step at a time_ , he thought to himself as he watched the other with fond eyes. His black eye had faded into a sickly yellow, but it was a big improvement.

The song changed into a hip-hop beat and a sweet voice and Taekwoon’s ears twitched in recognition as he realized it was Trey Songz.

“Hey, that’s ‘Pretty Girls Lie’!” He exclaimed, sitting up, facing the other who did not move. Wonshik opened one eye to look at him with a smirk. “You did tell me to check him out.” He said, closing his eyes again but smirk remaining as he spoke. Taekwoon’s heart jumped slightly in his chest. He swallowed.

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” Wonshik asked. Taekwoon shook his head, even though Wonshik had his eyes closed still.

“Did you like it?” He wanted him to like it, he realized. Wonshik nodded.

“It’s quite explicit.” He stated, opening his eyes to look, chuckling. Taekwoon blushed, refused to look the other in the eyes.

“Yeah, I liked it.” Wonshik assured after a silent pause, the song ending and turning into something Taekwoon didn’t know of again. He felt a smile tug at his mouth, and he felt pleased. Proud even. He lied back down and closed his eyes, listening to the music, and Wonshik occasionally humming along to it.

“How did basketball practice go?” Wonshik broke the peace, turning to look at Taekwoon. Taekwoon shrugged, the movement a little awkward in his position. “I dunno. Basketball is fun, but I’m not sure if I want to sign up.” He had secretly wanted to join a music club. He already got plenty of exercise on weekends, and basketball wasn’t _that_ fun.

“I think I’m going to join the music club.” Wonshik stated. Taekwoon turned his head to look at him in surprise. _Him too?_

Wonshik smiled at him. “I’m not sure though.” He said, and Taekwoon could see the insecurity. “Do it.” He said, leaving it at that. He could feel Wonshik watching him as he closed his eyes again. The other hummed thoughtfully.

“Wanna go eat some ramyun?” Wonshik asked after three songs of silence. “Sure.” He answered, realizing his own hunger at the thought of food.

True to its name and Wonshik’s promises, the convenience store by Wonshik’s house had all one could possibly need to eat some ramyun. A big selection of flavors, egg, cheese, kimchi and seaweed. All in portion packs. Wonshik bought it all for them both, insisting on paying, strictly telling Taekwoon to go sit down by the plastic tables outside. Taekwoon could not resist him any more and stepped outside to occupy their seats. Several tables were already occupied, by teenagers and middle aged men alike. Their hushed conversations melted into the sound of cicadas all around them, and he felt the humidity in the air. It was going to rain come morning, he thought to himself as he relaxed back into the plastic chair as he waited for the other.

A box of almost ready seafood ramyun was placed in front of him and he opened his eyes as Wonshik disappeared to fetch his own portion. He stirred his portion, waiting one more minute before eating. They ate in silence, occasionally muttering how delicious it was. Wonshik saying it was just what he needed after training so much. Taekwoon nodded in agreement. The people around them slowly disappeared as the clock turned past midnight.

None of them wanted to leave.

Wonshik bought more snacks, making sure Taekwoon didn’t go anywhere. As if he would. They talked music, shared favorite songs and artists, played songs on their phones and sang and danced. Wonshik amazed by Taekwoon’s voice, Taekwoon amazed by Wonshik’s dancing. Both flush and laughing, they enjoyed their time together as time passed by way too quickly.

A phone call from his father summoned Taekwoon home and they bid their goodbyes with smiles. Both of them felt warm with joy as they walked separate directions to their homes at 3 am.

\--

Wonshik reached the front of his father’s garage to find two people waiting for him. Two from the group of five 12th graders who found him oh-so-entertaining. Noticing them only after they had seen him, there was no escape. They were big boys, older than him, far stronger than him and always winning over him. He always tried his best, but he seemed to never be able to win.

His black eye had only just started to fade, he thought to himself as his stomach dropped in worry. He tried to promise himself not to be aggravated, but even he didn’t believe himself. He had never been able to control himself.

“Good morning, Wonshik.” The smallest of the two, but still bigger than Wonshik, spoke with a slight slur. He realized with a frown that they were drunk, the suspicion only confirmed by the other boy stumbling slightly as he stepped towards him. He backed away a step as well.

“Now, now, don’t run away, Wonshik.” They had such ugly smirks, Wonshik always thought. He couldn’t help but think of them as pure evil over the time they had spent harassing him. He felt himself sneer in distaste.

“We just want to have some fun, you know.” The bigger one slurred, the smaller laughing – a laugh similar to the one of a hyena. He stepped back once more, hands coming up in defense by reflex. He knew better than to answer, but he had never been very smart.

“I just want to go home and sleep, guys. I suggest you go do the same.” He tried to reason.

As expected, it only made things worse. The two howled in laughter and moved further towards him, closing the gap between them. Slightly panicked, Wonshik stumbled backwards, but thankfully he did not fall. It did however remind him.

Why did you fight again, you dumbass?

His forehead twitched to the memory of Taekwoon’s flick on his forehead. With one last look at the two laughing bullies, he turned and ran with all he had in the general direction of Taekwoon’s home.


	7. Chapter 7

Taekwoon had walked home slowly, deep in thought, and arrived at his home a lot later than promised. His father had been worried when he called, Taekwoon had heard by how irritated he sounded on the line. He understood him, he normally never stayed out this long. But he had friends now. He smiled at the thought, pulling off his shoes in the hallway. His father had left already, had called him after checking his bedroom before leaving to work at his usual night shift time, only to find his son still gone. The apartment was dark and quiet. Taekwoon felt comfortably sleepy as he padded slowly towards the bathroom, dreading his early morning workout the following day. But he felt no regret.

Toothbrush in mouth, he almost swallowed all his toothpaste as the silence of the empty apartment was suddenly disrupted by the doorbell ringing one, two, three times. Frozen in his spot, Taekwoon stared at the open bathroom door. The bell rang a fourth time and his feet moved on their own.

Their apartment was fairly new, and conveniently enough; by their toilet was a home system computer displaying the video of a pacing Wonshik waiting in front of his door. He frowned, curious to why he had come over. Taking the brush out of his mouth and spitting into the toilet, he pushed the speaker button.

“Wait a minute, Wonshik.” He said shortly and moved to rinse his mouth. The video showed the other stopping to stand still in front of the door, waiting.

With quick steps he moved to the front door to open it himself, curious and worried. Wonshik looked apologetic as the door opened and they made eye contact.

“What’s up?” He asked. Wonshik was chewing his lips, giving him a pitiful look. Taekwoon moved his body to the side before he could speak and gestured the other to enter. A thankful look was given as he shuffled past him and out of his shoes. His clothes were drenched, the predicted rain having arrived minutes after Taekwoon’s return home. He noticed the other was breathing heavily, trying hard to recover his breath.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know where else to-“ Wonshik rambled nervously. He was dripping water onto the floor. He tried to smudge the droplets with his sock, which were also soaked through, only smearing it out on the linoleum floor made to look like wood.

“What’s wrong?” Taekwoon cut him off. Wonshik stopped talking and chewed his lip once again. For a moment Taekwoon thought he looked ashamed.

“Two of the bullies were waiting by my house.” Taekwoon inhaled a sharp breath. “They were drunk, so… I-“ He cut himself off. Water was dripping from his bleached hair as well. Taekwoon waited for more information as he looked him over, tense and nervous.

Did he fight them?

He found no sign of injury but the fading bruise on his eye.

Did he win?

“I ran away.” Wonshik, shoulders heaving as he was still fighting for breath, looked at the floor. Taekwoon did not understand what the other was feeling. He looked ashamed, but he had done what everyone had asked to. Not to fight. He frowned in worry and held back his questions.

“Good.” His voice was tight with several emotions of anger and frustration; despite the relief he was feeling it was making him sound strict without meaning it. Wonshik looked up as he walked past him towards his bedroom beside the kitchen area. He followed silently, his breath finally evening out. He stopped at Taekwoon’s door, leaning on it as he watched him open his closet.

“Can I sleep on your couch?” He asked hesitantly – so carefully that Taekwoon’s heart kicked him in the chest with affection.

“No.” He answered, his slight smile not showing behind the closet door he was hiding behind, looking for clothes Wonshik could sleep in. He heard the other inhale sharply. “You can sleep on the bed.” He emerged from the closet with a blank face despite the lame joke, sweatpants and t-shirt in hand. Wonshik looked at him in surprise before relaxing into a smile. Then a chuckle as he shook his head and rubbed his neck.

Just like that Wonshik’s shitty mood had disappeared in an instant.

\--

Not trusting his heart to be quiet due to his involuntary nervousness, Taekwoon didn’t dare sleeping next to a completely sober Wonshik. After giving the other the clothes and his own bed, he walked away with a silent ‘good night’ and slept in his parent’s bed. His father would be at work until he was already gone to gym anyway.

The mere thought of having Wonshik in his apartment again was enough to have his heart beating, but he was too tired for it to keep him awake. Sunlight threatened to break through the blinds as he fell asleep almost instantly.

\--

Sunday morning arrived sooner than Taekwoon wanted, and a thundering headache from lack of sleep welcomed him as phone alarm woke him up. He had to go practice. Getting out of his parent’s bed with much difficulty, he moved with heavy steps towards the kitchen and much-needed coffee and medicine. Sunlight was furiously illuminating the apartment, making it hard for him to keep his sensitive eyes open. His bedroom was located straight across from his parent’s, kept apart by the kitchen area of their rather spacious livingroom. From his own room he could hear the faint sound of Wonshik’s snoring and he couldn’t help the snort that escaped him.

A warm cup of coffee was consumed slowly while staring mindlessly out of the window and down at the park near their building, their apartment located on the fifth floor of a rather new but not very tall building surrounded by identical buildings. Setting down his now mostly empty cup back on a kitchen top, he went to wake up his snoring friend.

His bedroom has no windows. A fact he absolutely loved, because sunlight was his biggest cause of waking up or not being able to fall asleep at wrong times. He was met with total darkness and stuffy air when he opened the door. Wonshik had actually stopped snoring for the moment, but he could hear his quiet breathing anyway. Stepping up to stand in front of the bed, he saw the other had buried his entire body beneath the covers, head included.

“Wonshik, wake up.” He tried, raising his voice slightly but apparently not enough. No reaction at all. He sighed, moved over to the bed and kneeled on the mattress. Tapping the lump of covers, he located something that he guessed what the other’s shoulder and grabbed hold, shaking lightly.

“Wonshik, wake up.” He tried a little louder and was awarded with a grunt, but not much more. He sat up, letting the shoulder go. They had barely gotten four hours of sleep, he thought to himself. “Might as well let you sleep it out, right?” He mumbled as if the other would answer him and moved off the bed and over to his desk. He turned on the desk lamp and scribbled down a note for the other to read in case he woke up before he could come back.

At gym.  
Food is in the fridge. Help yourself.

He paused, tapping the pen against his forehead, thinking. He chewed his lip for a little while before finally adding

Don’t leave.

at the end. He threw away the pen and turned off the lamp before he could change his mind, and stuck the note on his bedstand, feeling slightly shaky. He stared at the note for a full minute before rushing out of the room, grabbing his bag of gym clothes on his way.

\--

Wonshik woke up after what felt like a perfect night of sleep, to a completely dark bedroom that did not belong to himself. He looked around, slightly confused, before realizing he had gone to Taekwoon’s apartment during the night. He looked at the nightstand and saw a digital clock blaring bright numbers at him. 1.23pm. He groaned, fumbling for a switch to get the nightlight going.

Once the light was on and he had struggled himself out of his den of bedcovers, he noticed the note waiting for him on the nightstand. Picking it up, he struggled slightly with understanding the handwriting, then smiled.

“Don’t leave.” He read out loud, chuckling. “Ok, I won’t.”

He got up from the bed and walked over to the door. His muscles ached from yesterday’s strains. The soccer had taken its toll, but sprinting to Taekwoon’s house had sealed the deal. Especially his legs protested with every step he took. Slightly worried someone else would be in the apartment at the time; he opened the bedroom door slowly and peeked out his head to look.

The rain from the night before had been replaced with sunlight, instantly attacking his eyes as he peeked through. Wincing, he adjusted to the light and saw no sign of life in the livingroom. He stepped further out to peak at the kitchen area hidden by the door.

“Good morning Wonshik.”

He gasped in surprise, almost jumping back into the room but stopping himself as he initially recognized the voice as Taekwoon’s father.

“Or should I say afternoon?” He opened the door entirely with an insecure smile and saw the man standing in the kitchen, leaning back on a kitchen bench with a mug of - what he assumed was tea - in hand and a smirk on his face. He bowed deep in greeting, showing respect.

“Coffee?” He offered him. Wonshik straightened and shook his head. “I don’t drink coffee, sorry sir.” Mr. Jung hummed in understanding, then leaned over to open the fridge beside him. The fridge door had a smaller door that he opened, revealing several bottles of water. He grabbed one and offered it to Wonshik. “Here.”

Wonshik hurried over and grabbed the bottle from him with both hands, giving him a quiet thank you and another slight bow. The man looked really tired, he noticed, heavy bags under his eyes, face dreary. Dread filled his gut. “Did…did we wake you last night?” He really hoped the answer was a no. He hadn’t even considered that Taekwoon didn’t live alone when he rang the doorbell. _Four friggin times you stupid asshole._ His hand twitched as he almost moved to hit himself on the head.

Mr. Jung only smiled at him. “I was at work. I just got home actually, so don’t worry.” He assured. “I was on my way to bed, but please feel free to grab some breakfast.” He pointed at the fridge as he set down his cup and straightened up. “Ohh, and there’s towels in Taekwoon’s closet if you want to shower.” He gave his shoulder a light tap, then left to the bedroom across from Taekwoon’s. Wonshik’s shoulder felt warm where the man had tapped him, the gesture a moment’s reminder of his own father.

“Don’t worry Wonshik! Grades aren’t everything you know. I didn’t even finish High School and I’m doing just fine, see? You’ll figure something out, I’m sure.”

His father would always encourage him whenever he felt down, tapping his shoulder lovingly and even though the gesture was so simple - it gave Wonshik the strength he needed.

He stood frozen for several minutes, staring at the bedroom door as emotions washed over him, before he returned to reality and moving back to Taekwoon’s bedroom to grab the mentioned towels. He was going to take a long shower, he decided, feeling especially sticky and nasty after being drenched in both sweat and rain the day before. His hair most likely looked like it had been drenched in butter, considering how it felt in his hands as he ran them through it.

\--

True to his usual schedule, Taekwoon returned to his apartment around 2.30pm. He had walked home from the gym with much more hurry than usual, anticipating Wonshik’s presence in his home. His father had texted him earlier, reporting that Wonshik had awakened and was still alive. Taekwoon had texted him on his way to the gym, warning him that his friend would most likely be in the apartment when he returned from work. His father had sent a simple ‘ok’ in return and he was grateful for the lack of questions. He knew his father had many he wanted to ask.

His training session had gone quite horribly. He was exhausted from the lack of sleep, and distracted by the thought of Wonshik in his home and figuring what to do when he returned. He didn’t really know how to hang out, and he doubted Wonshik would be fit to play soccer again already. The thought of how sore the other would be when he woke up distracted him enough to be punched in the face by his punching bag, drawing laughs from the others at the gym and his face turning into fire from embarrassment.

“Taekwoon! Where is your head today?” His trainer had barked at him, frustrated with his unusual behaviour. He answered he must have left it at home. _With Wonshik._ He had thought to himself, stomach tightening.

As he stopped in front of the door to his apartment, his heart was racing. Both from walking fast and other reasons he did not want to think of. Taking a deep breath, calming his panting, he punched in the code and entered the apartment.

Not wanting to wake his father, he didn’t call for Wonshik, but found him quickly as he looked into the livingroom. He was seated on the couch, playing with his phone; completely immersed with the game. The door closed with a smack and Wonshik looked up, face brightening.

Having no sense at all, he shouted “Hey!” as he waved. Taekwoon immediately shot up his hand and hushed the other with a finger in front of his mouth. Wonshik made a comical face of regret, hands coming up in surrender and mouthing an apology before he got up and moved towards him. He kicked off his shoes and moved to leave his gym bag right inside the bathroom door, located beside the entrance.

“Did you eat breakfast yet?” He asked quietly. Wonshik shook his head. “I figured I’d wait for you.” Taekwoon hummed and motioned for the other to follow him to the fridge.

Having a father who worked mostly at night and through the mornings, Taekwoon had learned to make some foods for breakfast before school. He couldn’t say he knew much, but he knew enough to prepare them both a very quick fried rice from the cold rice left in the rice cooker from the day before, some sauce and various vegetables he found in the fridge.

 Wonshik watched him in awe, making him blush slightly as he prepared the food in silence. Occasionally he would put the other to work, like making him mix two eggs, finding them two bowls and preparing kimchi in a separate, small bowl. As he finished up and placed a bowl in Wonshik’s waiting hands, the other’s eyes were practically shining in admiration.

“You’re like a real chef” He commented, seemingly baffled. Taekwoon ducked his head, embarrassed. “No, I’m not.” He denied and walked over the kitchen table to sit, Wonshik following right behind him, peeking over his shoulders. Something he did easily, being slightly taller.

“You sure? ‘Cause this smells pretty amazing.” He shook his head, but his mouth twitched. Keeping his head down and eyes focused on the food, he refused to show it.

“Eat.” He commanded. Wonshik didn’t hesitate a second. He chewed once before eyes widened and he exclaimed a moan, making Taekwoon blush even further. “Oh, man. This is so good.”

Taekwoon huffed, never knowing what to do with himself whenever he received praise. His face and neck would catch on fire, and sweat starting to form on his back, making him shift around uncomfortably. He hated it and loved it at the same time, happy the food was enjoyed, hating the reactions the compliments drew out of him. All he could do was huff, resisting fanning himself and making it too obvious.

And Wonshik just wouldn’t stop _moaning._ As he ate Taekwoon’s mediocre fried rice, sounds just kept tumbling out of him. He had never noticed the other was such a loud eater. He couldn’t help but stare secretly as the other was too distracted to notice. Taekwoon found himself almost too distracted to eat; only half done when Wonshik’s bowl was empty. He had even given the other more than himself.

With his bowl empty, Wonshik settled on watching Taekwoon eat; who now started eating diligently to escape the attention as quickly as possible. His heart started beating again under Wonshik’s calm gaze. Food gone in no time, he escaped by grabbing both of their dishes and walking over to the kitchen to wash them. He could hear Wonshik following behind, the chair scraping the floor, soft sounds of socks meeting the floor. Taekwoon felt so hyper-aware of his surroundings he was sure he would crack at any sudden movement or sound.

“I can wash those.” Wonshik stepped up beside him as he was lowering the dishes into the sink, the sound and presence sudden enough for him to drop the bowls and make a loud ‘clank’. He huffed, tense, but backed away when Wonshik gave him a slight nudge in the side to move over.

He couldn’t understand why he was so worked up. Wonshik was comfortable. Calming even. His body was not reacting accordingly. It was so confusing. And he felt so _stupid._

He managed to calm everything down as he watched him wash the bowls carefully, avoiding noises the best he could. By the time Wonshik dried his hands on a piece of paper towel, Taekwoon felt normal again. Giving a quick smile when Wonshik turned to face him, he indicated towards his bedroom with a nod and moved past him.

“Were you serious about joining the music club, by the way?” Taekwoon finds himself asking as they enter his room, Wonshik shutting the door behind them. He hears the other sigh.

“Yeah…kinda? I’m not sure…” He frowns at that.  
“Why?” He asks as he sits down on his bed, legs folded under himself. Wonshik moves to take a seat on his desk chair, rolling it closer to the bed. He could see him chewing his lips.  
“I don’t even know how to play.” Wonshik shrugs. He seemed to have given up on the idea already.   
“…and?” He gives Wonshik a questioning look. “That’s kind of the point of joining the music club, you know. They’ll teach you how to play.”

Wonshik meets his eyes at that, looking surprised. “Ohh…” He exhaled in realization. Taekwoon can’t stop himself from smiling warmly at the other.

“What about you? You need to join at least one club at some point.” Wonshik asked him after a slight pause. Taekwoon nodded thoughtfully. He had been considering it ever since he found out about the lack of a soccer club. “I think so, yeah.” I he answered, and was awarded with a bright smile from the other. “Let’s join together.” Wonshik suggested with an adorable grin, making Taekwoon’s face feel warm.

“Do you know how to play?”

Taekwoon nodded. “I know some piano, but I’m not any good.” He shrugged. He hadn’t touched the piano in a long time, their apartment only containing a small, simple keyboard. Wonshik eyes shone with admiration anyway, like he had just said he was a piano prodigy or something. He couldn’t look at him anymore, feeling self-aware.

“I really want to learn guitar.” Wonshik admitted. “It looks so cool.” He let out a deep and breathy chuckle. Taekwoon’s chest fluttered at the sound, face hot as his eyes stared at his own hands. He could easily picture Wonshik with an acoustic guitar on his lap, the checkered shirt he was wearing a perfectly complimenting feature to the fantasy. With his blonde hair he would perfectly fit the look, he thought. “Yeah, you would suit it, I think.” He admitted out loud, rocking back and forth happily on his bed. Wonshik blushed at that, hand coming up to rub at his neck again. “Really?” Wonshik didn’t sound so convinced.

“Yeah, really.” He encouraged and Wonshik accepted it with a hesitating nod. He wished Wonshik would have more confidence, and he was having a hard time understanding how the boy had such a low opinion of himself in the first place. To him Wonshik seemed pretty perfect. Why didn’t everyone see that?

The thought brought him to the night before.

“What happened last night?” He asked carefully. Wonshik looked at him for a moment, then shrugged and sighed. “They were just bored, I guess.”

“Do they come to your house often?” He asked, getting worried. His mind immediately started thinking of ways to help the other. Talking to his dad, talking to their teacher, talking to the bullies…

“Sometimes… I’m usually already home, so I just lock the door and ignore them until they give up.” Wonshik shrugged, like it was the most natural thing in the world. It made Taekwoon’s heart ache to see how adjusted the other was to his situation. He had simply accepted that he was a victim. At times it almost seemed like he thought he deserved, which gave Taekwoon a bitter taste in his mouth. _Nobody deserves to be treated like this._

He couldn’t help but huff in frustration, making Wonshik look at him with worry. As if he had said something wrong. “Why are so you casual about this?” He asked hurriedly so he wouldn’t misunderstand, and realized his frustration was clear. It made Wonshik flinch a little. He chewed his lip a little while Taekwoon watched him, waiting, before shrugging once again. “It’s just how it is.” He admitted. “There’s not much I can do about it.”

Taekwoon’s frown deepened. “Of course there is.” He promised. Wonshik looked at him again at that, analyzing him. He could see he wasn’t convinced.

“I’m not letting them near you again.” He declared, straightening his back. Wonshik’s brows rose up in surprise, but his looked gave him away: that he didn’t believe there was anything Taekwoon could do to help him.

But Taekwoon was stubborn and determined.


	8. Chapter 8

While Monday mornings is not something Taekwoon is a fan of – well, any morning really – the morning after getting as much as ten hours of sleep was surprisingly hard. Due to his lack of sleep night-to-Sunday, he had gone to bed as soon as Wonshik had announced his departure home after an entire afternoon and evening of chatting. They had mindlessly chatted about music, the artists and genres they liked and admired until the hours had passed without them noticing. Well-fed with dinner made by Taekwoon’s father, Wonshik had returned home with the happiest smile Taekwoon had witnessed him wearing so far. He was pretty sure his own face was mirroring it quite accurately as well, making his father give him incredulous looks all evening; he had never been one to smile much. Dumb smile still making his facial muscles ache, he had crashed into his bed hours earlier than he had in years; his entire body feeling warm and gooey.

Despite the harsh morning, his brightness lived through the night and all morning – only to disappear in an instant when he arrived in their classroom to find Wonshik’s seat empty. Worry engulfed his gut, but he tried to convince himself the other would just come later than him. Sitting sideways, back to the windows so he could keep an eye on the two doors to their classroom and Wonshik’s desk at the same time, he fiddled with his hands restlessly and waited.

By the time their teacher entered the classroom Wonshik had not yet arrived, and Taekwoon became thoroughly worried. Barely excusing himself to the restroom, even though leaving during class was not allowed, he hastily left the classroom and half-jogged towards the stairs leading to the school rooftop.

There was a small hope within him that he was clinging to with desperation; that Wonshik was simply skipping class, lying on the roof and listening to music like he often would.

With heart beating heavily in his chest he ran up the steps, two at a time, all the floors until he reached the door to the rooftop. Flinging it open and basically throwing himself through it, he saw no sign of life on the rooftop. He jogged around, heartbeat loud in his ears, looking behind all possible hiding spots, only to stop by the edge of the roof.

Squinting with much effort, he was able to make out the shapes of three boys standing in a half circle in front of Wonshik by the toolshed beside the soccer field. He was easy to spot after all, blonde hair a pretty unique trait in their school.

Turning on his heel, he ran back to the stairs.

\--

Wonshik had known from the moment he ran away from his respective bullies, that he would have to face them again the following week. He had been hoping it would not be first thing Monday morning, though. He had been in such a good mood after the best weekend he could ever imagine having.

He had barely halfway crossed the soccer field before he was surrounded by Seongjoo and Minjeong from Saturday night, as well as their overgrown friend Jinhae. He had never found them especially scary as individuals, but in a group of their usual three, or even just two, they were undeniably intimidating. All of them were older, bigger and stronger than him by far – he himself lean but skinny and light; the perfect easy target. He increased his pace, despite realizing it was already too late for him to escape. They lead him like a sheep lead by shepherds towards the toolshed, until they were out of sunlight and prying eyes. Not even if they tried, nobody would be able to see them through the windows covering the walls of their semi-modern school building.

He could feel his heart racing, his mouth was dry from suspense, and his mind was racing to find some kind of way out of this. For once he really wanted to get to class. But he was cornered against the wooden shed and all escape routes were blocked by the three students grinning at him wickedly. They had not even spoken yet, but he knew what was coming. The smaller and definitely uglier of the three, Minjeong, spoke up first, as usual.

“Did you really think running away would do you any favors, my dear Wonshik?” He sneered. Wonshik made a face at the way he addressed him, but didn’t pleasure them with any answer. He just leaned back against the wall behind him, getting as far away as possible. They were still all at a safe distance from him, but he knew it would not last very long. Chest heaving with his breath increasing, he could see they were annoyed with him. He had once thought he would simply become used to this, simply accept it as something he had to endure, but fear and anger had too much of a grip on him. Beneath all the built up suspense, he could feel his anger building – to his own dread. The frustration of never being left alone, left in peace, was getting to him. He just wanted to be left alone and enjoy his time with his new friends. Why was it too much to ask for?

Jinhae was cracking his knuckles. He had yet to finish what Taekwoon had interrupted that day Wonshik first noticed him, but they never attacked him first. They always made his blood boil, his vision going white in pure rage and arm flinging out to attack – only then would they finally attack him. And he never had a chance. Not even one-on-one.

It was all a game to them after all; how long would it take for them to make Wonshik attack? He had seen them take bets before, eyes cracking open from where he was lying on the ground from being knocked down, seeing them exchanging big bills of money between themselves while snickering like they had no care in the world for the violence they had just caused another human being.

He hated them. Loathed them. But he had long since given up on finding an end to this endless hell.

He dreaded the disappointed look on Taekwoon’s face when he would see him with another black eye.

\--

Taekwoon sprinted with all he had across the soccer field, the school entrance on opposite side from the tool shed. He had barely been able to sneak his way past a janitor on his way through the school halls, trying to jog as fast as he could through the halls without making too much noise and drawing too much attention. He cursed his sneakers for making squeaking sounds as the turned corners with barely low enough speed to avoid slipping. The moment he was outside the main doors of their school, he turned into a full sprint; his long legs and agility doing him all the favors he needed. He crossed in record speed, slowing down as he came closer and coming to a full stop at a safe distance to catch his breath. His ears were desperately listening for any proof of violence, but he could only make out muffled voices of boys speaking.

Catching his breath back to a more normal level, he moved closer with care to not make any sound; the voices gradually becoming clearer.

“such a shame you got away Saturday night, we could have had so much fun together, you know.” He heard voices snickering. Relief washed over him as he realized they had yet to actually harm Wonshik. He moved around the shed to crouch around the corner from the four boys, waiting for the right moment to jump in and snatch Wonshik and just run to their classroom where they could hide under the safety of Mr. Cha’s witness.

“Yeah, we only wanted to hang out with you.” Another voice, slightly higher in pitch from the first one, joined in. “Why did you run away, Wonshik?”

“Yeah, why did you run away?” Their tone was clearly mocking, trying to rile up his friend into making the first move – he had no doubt. He just hoped Wonshik’s anger would hold long enough for his to find and opening. The sound of someone clearing their throat and the spitting made Taekwoon clench his fist. He could feel his initial determined state slowly turning into something else.

“Did you run away to your _boyfriend_?” The higher pitched voice put extra weight on the last word, saying it in a way that made it seem like the filthiest thing imaginable. Taekwoon’s gut sank in dread. _No…_

“Don’t think we haven’t noticed your new friend, dear Wonshikkie.” The lower pitched voice said, and Taekwoon could basically hear he was smiling so wickedly. He felt his chest beating, a certain familiar pressure to his skull making its arrival. Fists and jaw clenching and unclenching as he listened at full attention, despite his heart beating loudly in his ears.

“Don’t you think you’re moving on a little too fast?” There was a slight silent pause, but Taekwoon sprung up to a stand as he realized where they were about to go.  “I mean your step-fath-“

Taekwoon had heard enough bullshit.

\--

“You boys have a real talent in making people angry, don’t you?”

Wonshik had tears in his eyes from the pressure he was feeling in his entire body, his entire storage of resistance utilized to hold himself back from attacking. He had clenched his fists to the point of making deep, painful marks in his palms, and the pressure on his skull had made his vision blur the moment he realized what the boys in front of him were about to suggest. They had never pushed this far. They never needed to.

He had gasped to gather air to shout over whatever Minjeong would about to say, when Taekwoon suddenly stepped up from his side, the corner of the shed, and stood in front of him. The three boys jumped back in surprise, Seongjoo releasing a slight shout.

Wonshik felt as if he was about to explode, and the sight of Taekwoon standing up in front of him made him release all the air in his lungs with a pitiful whimper and the letting go of pressure he had holding him. Knees buckled and he slid along the wall to sit weakly, head lolling with no power to keep it up straight. Black spots clouded his vision for a moment as he struggled to even his breath, but by keeping his eyes on the feet of his friend he was able to control it before it became any worse.

“I suggest you leave.” He could barely recognize Taekwoon’s soft voice being turned into something as fierce and full of loathing as what he heard coming out of him. He tilted his head to look up at his impressive broad build, made to look even bigger by the stance he had taken. He was keeping his arms slightly out from his body, which successfully made him seem bigger than normal. A mixture of relief and worry washed over him and he tried to move, but his body refused to listen to him.

The laugh the boys gave in answer made his stomach drop in dread, the sounds familiar to him; they only saw this as a part of their wicked game. Taekwoon was simply an extension pack. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and willed his muscles to listen. How had he exhausted himself from simply doing nothing?

When he opened his eyes again, Taekwoon’s stance had changed into something he thought he would only see on TV with his father; a perfect stance that of a boxer. His eyes flickered over at the three opponents and saw the slight hitch of hesitance in them all. They didn’t count on Taekwoon having a pair of balls, it seemed. Not that Wonshik had expected much more than big words either.

“Are you going to fight us three on one, pretty boy?” Minjeong said, but Wonshik had never in his stay at this school ever heard his voice be this insecure. He couldn’t help a smirk. _They’re actually intimidated._ Something close to pride filled him.

“You can still walk away.” Taekwoon said coolly, making Wonshik admire him even more. At the same time he felt his arms finally listening to him and lifted his body up against the wall so he could push with his legs to get up on wobbly limbs. Taekwoon’s head turned slightly to the side to watch his movement for a moment, before turning his attention back to his targets.

Jinhae opened his mouth for the first time to bark a mocking laugh. Taekwoon’s head whipped to his side, turning his full attention to him. Wonshik could see from the side of his face that he was frowning angrily. His eyes were already quite sharp, but with added anger it was quite unnerving.

“Why? You think you stand a chance?” Jinhae asked, his deep and intimidating voice making Wonshik doubt absolutely everything. He was the only one worth being scared of, though he rarely spoke or did anything. Always the silent support, always the one to take on Wonshik alone when he exploded into his anger fits after the two other’s riled him up.

Taekwoon only shrugged in answer, coming off as quite cocky and making Minjeong and Seongjoo’s brows rise in surprise and amusement. Despite now being able to stand up, Wonshik found he was unable to push himself away from the wall. He was getting increasingly frustrated with his body, making annoyed huffing sounds. Every time he did, Taekwoon’s eyes would flash over at him in worry.

There was a tense moment of nothing happening. Taekwoon was simply standing ready to move, the three bullies still standing in a circle around them but not at the ready. The seemed simply dumbfounded by Taekwoon’s appearance and behavior, the student entirely unfamiliar to them and therefore unpredictable. Wonshik they always seemed to know what he would do.

The moment was then suddenly broken as Taekwoon made an abrupt false move towards Jinhae, making the other lunge out in sudden surprise. Taekwoon shifted his stance from a right-sided one to a left-sided, avoiding Jinhae’s blow and stepping closer at the same time. Taekwoon’s left hand flew forward and connected with Jinhae’s face, and to Wonshik’s shock; Jinhae fell straight backwards and to the ground. He suddenly remembered that Taekwoon was left handed, and left out a surprised laugh.

It was all a blur of motion from then, Minjeong and Seongjoo shouting curses and then turning to run away, Taekwoon grabbing his hand and wrangling him to stand and run.

He was dragged all the way to the roof of the school, Taekwoon locking the door behind them as Wonshik collapsed to the ground, breath heaving, when he didn’t have anyone to hold on to anymore. Taekwoon leaned back on the door, his breath also heavy, and slid down to sit. There were a few moments of heavy breathing on both parts, and then Taekwoon started laughing the most beautiful laugh Wonshik had heard in his life. He joined in, holding on to his stomach where his muscles ached.

They sat like that for several minutes, catching their breaths only to start laughing again. Sunlight warmed their sweaty bodies as their laughs turned into a calm and content silence.

Wonshik rolled over and struggled up to a sitting position, across from Taekwoon, a bit of distance between them. “You were really cool back there.” Wonshik’s eyes were shining with admiration. Taekwoon couldn’t bear to look at him. “Man, you looked so freaking pro! Did you learn martial arts or something?”

“I box on the weekends.” Taekwoon answered with a shrug as if it was the most normal thing a person could do on their spare time.

“What? Really?” Wonshik gaped like his jaw was falling off. “That’s so cool!”

“It’s not that special.” Taekwoon tried to calm Wonshik down. He never told people what he spent his weekends on, unless the only other option was to lie. Boxing as a sport always drew such reactions from people, and the attention made him uncomfortable. Regret filled him as he could basically feel and touch the admiration coming from the other, without even having to look at his face.

“You’re really cool.”

“Stop that.” He demanded, but as he looked up at Wonshik and saw his wicked smirk he realized that Wonshik knew. _That little shit._

“You’re so cool.” He could see he was anticipating the reaction. He did not disappoint, his entire body cringing at the praise.

“Please shut up.” He pleaded, grimacing.

“You’re cooler than Kanye.”

“Oh my God.” He curled over and hid his face in his arms, his face was surely bright red already, and he felt sweat trickling down his spine. Wonshik could barely hold back his laughter.

“Please teach me your ways.” His tone was begging, in a mocking way. Taekwoon had had just about enough of this.

“I’m leaving. Bye.” He got up, turned to unlock the door, his entire body on fire from embarrassment. He was pretty sure he was blushing all the way down to his toes.

“I could only dream to be as cool as you!” Wonshik shouted after him and he couldn’t help but laugh before even finishing the sentence. This was getting way past ridiculous, but he felt himself laughing breathily as well.

“Wait! Let’s go together!” He heard the other shout as he reached the rooftop door handle with his hand. He didn’t wait.


	9. Chapter 9

“Taekwoon.” His father had slipped his head through his bedroom door and called him softly while he was doing homework, his back to the door. An ice cold, sinking feeling filled him for a second, so sure that his father had found out already that he and Wonshik had skipped school that day.

“Hm?” He answered cautiously, trying to seem oblivious, not turning to look at him. He heard his footsteps as he moved into his room and towards him. “Phone call from your teacher.” He left the house phone beside his arm, on the desk, and turned and left. Taekwoon breathed in relief, and then frowned. _Mr. Cha?_

He picked up the phone while his gut stirred with worry.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Taekwoon.” The teacher’s tone of voice sounded tired and worried. His stomach coiled. “I- ahh, where do I even begin…” Mr. Cha hesitated, mumbling into the phone, making Taekwoon even more worried that something serious might have happened. His first thought was if something had happened to Wonshik after they parted ways when school hours were over. They had ran away from the school grounds, Wonshik knowing where to jump the fence without getting caught, and they spent the entire day in an arcade; playing games. Taekwoon would lose at everything. Wonshik would laugh. Taekwoon’s heart would threaten to burst at the sight.

“Jang Jinhae’s parents called me earlier.” The teacher hesitantly started after being quiet for what felt like several minutes. “They said you attacked him today. Is this true?” He could hear how much the teacher wished for it to not be. Guilt spread through him like a black cloud for making the teacher disappointed. He was an alright teacher after all; always nice to them.

He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Mr. Cha.” He heard the other inhale through the phone. “No, no, don’t be. I know more than you think, Taekwoon.” The teacher rushed out immediately. “I know what Jinhae and his friends have been doing to Wonshik, I’m sure you were just trying to help your friend, right?” Taekwoon nodded, then realized he was on the phone and muttered a ‘yes’.

There was a silence between them, he could hear the teacher sigh several times, but he got the feeling that it wasn’t because of him. He prepared the words carefully in his head before he asked the question that had been bothering him for many days already.

“Mr. Cha… why won’t the school do anything about Wonshik’s bullying?”

The teacher inhaled sharply, and then released the air again in a hopeless sigh. Like all strength had left him. “It’s very complicated, Taekwoon. It’s not something you as a student should know, either. I’m afraid I can’t tell you without risking my job.” He sighed again. “I’m so sorry.”

There was a silent pause again, this time Taekwoon the one sighing. He didn’t understand what exactly could keep the school from stopping the bullying of a single student.

“Taekwoon, I’m really sorry you have to deal with this, but-“ He groaned on the other side of the line. “There’s a problem.” He stated. Taekwoon frowned, hand holding the phone tightening the grip. He didn’t say anything, just waited for him to continue.

“Jinhae’s parents want you to give an official apology. In front of them, Jinhae and the principal.” He huffed. “Your father and I will have to be there too.”

Taekwoon’s stomach sank into the abyss. The thought of standing in front of a group of people he did not know and apologize for something he was not sorry for doing. He groans into the phone and whines ever so slightly, forgetting it’s his teacher on the line.

“Teach… please?” He basically whimpered and borrowed Wonshik’s nickname for him to try to be more appealing, desperate to get away.

“I already told your father.” Taekwoon let out another groan, bending over his desk. “Don’t worry, I told him it’s not your fault. Wonshik was really insistent on that part.” Taekwoon straightened in his chair abruptly. “Wonshik?”

“Yeah, I called him first to hear his side of the story of course.” He assured him.

“Is he- Is he in trouble?” He asked nervously. He was answered immediately; “No! No, no, he didn’t touch anyone for once.” A breathy laugh hinted that Wonshik had this conversation with his teacher quite often. He wondered how many times exactly Wonshik had apologized to these people for something that wasn’t really his fault. It bothered him greatly that he couldn’t ask why exactly.

He finds himself wanting to call Wonshik and talk.

“Anyway, I’ll make some more calls and we’ll find a good time for everyone to get this over with, alright?” He’s reminded of what he has to do, but feels better now that he knew Wonshik probably had to do it a number of times and his case was even more unfair. 

“Yes, Teach.”

“Again, I’m sorry I can’t fix this…” He sounded so hopeless over the phone and Taekwoon feels guilty for whining so much. He knew teachers had minimal power at the school, despite popular belief. “It’s okay, it’s not your fault either.” He murmurs quietly, guilt stinging his insides. The teacher asks him to give the phone back to his father and he accepted it in the kitchen with an encouraging smile that Taekwoon saw when he finally dared to look up at him after avoiding his gaze the entire walk from his desk to the kitchen. His father had been waiting, a big cup of his precious green tea in hand. He returned to his room right away to call Wonshik with his own phone.

“Taekwoon? What’s up?” 

He felt better he moment he heard Wonshik’s voice through the phone, and relaxed; falling down backwards onto his bed with a sigh. “I wanted to see if you’re alright.” He mumbled; feeling embarrassed for showing he cared.

“Me? I’m the one who should be asking. Did you talk to Teach yet?”  
“Yeah”  
“I’m sorry.” Wonshik told him and Taekwoon frowned at the guilt.

“It’s not your fault.” He tried to assure him, knowing all too well how that never worked. But it was still nice to hear.

“I still feel bad.” Wonshik said weakly.

“Don’t.” He demanded and Wonshik’s breathy chuckle that makes him _so_ weak was like music to his ears. He was about to groan at the sound - at how it makes his chest flutter - but caught himself before it was too late. “I’m fine.” He said sincerely and smiles warmly as if Wonshik could see him. He had a feeling the other would hear it somehow.

“I’ll make it up to you.” Wonshik then said and Taekwoon’s brow peaked in interest. He made a sound of curiousness and Wonshik continued; “I’ll write you a song.” He promised. Taekwoon could never understand quite why, but the promise made his words catch in his throat. He had to clear his throat to be able to speak again. “Once I learn how.” He could almost see Wonshik rubbing his neck while he said that.

“So you’re joining the music club?” He sat up in his bed, felt excited about having Wonshik do music. To do something else than being alone in that empty home. It made him feel like he would dare to join the club as well. For some strange reason, doing music always seemed like something far away from him. But now it felt closer. Within reach. He could almost touch it. It made his heart beat faster in anticipation.

“Yeah.”

“Good.” He thought he could hear Wonshik’s smile and smiles widely. “Yeah.” Wonshik sighed into the phone.

“Taekwoon?”

His entire body startles at the sound of his father’s voice in his room, having been too caught up in the phone conversation to notice his father peeking in the door. He lowered the phone. “Yes?”

“Can I talk to you a little?” His father asked, and Taekwoon finally noticed the worry his father had masked away with the smile earlier. Nodding yes to his father first, he quickly tells Wonshik he’ll talk to him later and hangs up as his father comes to sit on the end of the bed. Taekwoon had positioned himself against the wall on the other end when talking on the phone.

He chews his lip as he waits for his father to speak. He knew he wasn’t angry with him for what he did for Wonshik, not after Mr. Cha explaining it to him, but the man had other reasons to worry. This was his fourth school after all. His parents were hoping so much that there would be no more transfers, even though they did not tell him that directly. If he said he had to, they would let him anyway. It all made him feel so incredibly guilty for being such a bother to them.

His father sighed and Taekwoon knew he didn’t want to ask what he was about to ask him.

“Should I be worried?” He asked, looking Taekwoon in the eyes as he did. There was so much more in the words than what was said out loud. Years of struggle. Taekwoon swallowed dryly because he felt so guilty he almost wanted to cry, but shook his head. This time he would not go anywhere. He would persevere whatever came at him; no matter what.

“Does Wonshik know?” Taekwoon couldn’t help but flinch a little. He knew he would have to tell Wonshik everything eventually; he wanted to be honest with him. He had enjoyed his time so much he hadn’t really noticed it passed so quickly. He supposed it was time.

“No.” He said with his eyes closed. The sigh his father let out was a tired one, making him open his eyes again, but only to look at his own twinning fingers in his lap.

“Do you think he will care?” The question was asked carefully, making his father’s feelings almost naked in front of him. He cared so much for Taekwoon, and he was so worried he would be hurt again by someone they all thought they could rely on. Taekwoon shakes his head without hesitation.

“Wonshik is good, dad. Through and through.” He really believed that and said it with confidence; looking up again. His father’s shoulders relaxed a little and he seemed more assured. He hadn’t been this confident last time, when it had gone so horribly wrong.

“I believe you.” That made Taekwoon smile shyly. His father got up from the bed and turned to him. “Tell him soon though, okay? Get it out of your way.” He gave a slight smile and walked out of his bedroom after receiving an affirmative from Taekwoon.

\--

It was on the next day that Wonshik and Taekwoon found themselves standing together in front of the Teacher’s office early in the morning, before classes started, in order to ask for a signup sheet for the music club. When signing up for any club you usually had to sign up on the boards in the hallway during first week of every semester, but considering both of them had transferred in mid-semesters, they had been told to come to the office any time and simply request a signup sheet. If the club had room, they would be free to join.

Taekwoon knocked on the door and they waited, Wonshik leaning on the wall beside the door. He was clearly tired this morning, likely from getting up extra early to be here on time. They had texted for a while the evening before, and Taekwoon agreed to come with him to the office, Wonshik convinced that if he met any other teacher than Mr. Cha he would be ignored.

For once, though, the teacher opening the door was their own; greeting them with his always-so-brilliant smile.

“Good morning Taekwoon!” He said too loudly, and then noticed Wonshik behind the door. “And you too, Wonshik!” Just as brightly. Wonshik smiled at the teacher. “What can I do for you?”

“I’d like to sign up for the music club.” Wonshik said, a little quietly as if he was afraid someone else would hear it and jump out and mock him for it. Mr. Cha already seemed bright, but he somehow brightened up even more. “Of course! Give me a second and I’ll go fetch it.”

They smiled at each other while they waited, both of them feeling excited. Taekwoon’s heart was beating too, and felt a tug of determination. The door to the office was still open.

“One for me too, Mr. Cha!” He called through the door, sure he would hear. Wonshik’s smile brightened into a surprised but very happy grin and a hand came to pat his shoulder. Taekwoon felt a surge of excitement. He did it. He was going to do music. For real.

Mr. Cha returned with two sheets and handed them out while instructing what to fill out. “The music club is far from full, so you’re able to join for sure.” He assured them before they left to the classroom to start filling out the information. It was all questions about prior experience and what they would want to play.

They both sat at Wonshik’s desk, Taekwoon’s chair turned around, and filled it out it silence as the classroom slowly started filling up with classmates, only occasionally mumbling to each other about what they were filling out. Wonshik signed up for guitar and songwriting, Taekwoon for piano and singing; making Wonshik look at him in awe. “Sing for me next time.” He demanded, and Taekwoon could only nod yes despite the nervous clutch in his gut.

“Wanna stay over at my place next Friday?” Wonshik asked suddenly, out of the blue. Taekwoon looked up from his sheet, puzzled. Wonshik, giving him a dumb looking grin, continued; “I bought a coffee machine.”

He looked so proud when he said it. Taekwoon mused at him in slight confusion. “You don’t drink coffee.”

Wonshik’s grin grew. “You better come use it then, so it won’t be of waste.” He said, very satisfied as he continued writing his information. Taekwoon  snorted at how cheesy it was and shrugged. A waste indeed.


	10. Chapter 10

Taekwoon’s plan of not making any trouble at this school had gone down into shit. The dread he felt at having his father standing beside him outside the school meeting room, waiting to be invited into the room filled with accusing people. Jang  Jinhae’s parents, the school principal and teacher Cha would all be there, and he would have to apologize and his father too. Bile was stuck in his gut at the thought of his father apologizing for him, especially when the apology was so unfair.

His father had tried to explain to him; that some people have a lot more money and power than others. Apparently that power snuck its way all the way into the school system as well. To keep Jinhae’s record clean, Taekwoon would have to apologize. With clenched fists he waited silently beside his father on a bench. He felt ashamed. Humiliated.

Wonshik had been quiet and avoidant all morning, not acting like his normal playful self and not looking Taekwoon in the eye. The entire schoolday had passed and they had not had a proper conversation all day. He knew Wonshik was feeling guilty about it all. And he in return did not know how to make him feel any better.

But tonight he would go to Wonshik’s house to sleep over. At least he had not cancelled that.

He was nervous and excited about going. He had decided to come clean to Wonshik, once and for all. He wanted him to know everything about him before they moved on with their friendship. Waiting longer would feel like a lie.

“Ready?” Teacher Cha’s head suddenly peeked through an opening in the door. His father looked up from his phone where he had been texting his wife. They were always texting when they were apart.

They stood up, Taekwoon nodding that he was ready, receiving an assuring smile from the teacher. His father’s arm snuck around his shoulder and lead him towards the door, and he moved willingly despite the burning want to refuse everything. Just run away and ignore it all.

But ignoring things never did any good. He knew that.

\--

Wonshik was hiding on the roof of the school, the feeling of guilt because of what was going on inside the school walls – all because of him – eating him up like an infection. He sat on the low wooden table located there on the roof, where he and Taekwoon would sit and listen to music together on sunny days, and hugged around himself. He was trying to stay away from the business the best he could, but the want to go down there and yell at them all was strong enough to make his head hurt. But he had promised himself not to make this any worse than it already was. So he waited for it to be over, despite the cold breeze and sun about to set.

Taekwoon had told him to wait for him, and then his father would drive them to Wonshik’s house. He tried his best to just look forward to having Taekwoon over for the entire weekend. Taekwoon had even taken the weekend off from the gym in order to stay the entire 3 days. One could say he was pretty excited about it.

\--

Taekwoon had not felt so on display in a very long time as when he entered the meeting room, all eyes on him and his father, his heart hammering in his chest. He noticed there was only a woman seated there at the end of the table with the principal, and assumed it was Jinhae’s mother. The principal was standing beside her, and he looked forcefully blankly at him – like he wanted to say a lot of things but was keeping quiet. His face was a little reddened, which gave his efforts away. Teacher Cha trotted in front of him and his father to slide out two chairs for them, opposite of the table from the mother, mumbling at them to take a seat. They both sat down wordlessly, Taekwoon ending up seated in the middle with his father to the right and the teacher to his left. Like two protective pillars.

All the while the mother, Mrs. Jang, was _staring_ at him; analyzing him up and down with her critical eyes. She looked her part; dressed in high quality and spotless clothing, clad with jewelry and bleached auburn hair styled into waves. She was young, younger than Taekwoon’s parents, clearly. Both of his parents had traces of grey in their hair and wrinkles around their eyes. He had been a quite late child after all. The moment they were all settled, she spoke up, voice strong and authoritative.

“Jung Taekwoon.” She said while reading off a paper in front of her that he assumed was his profile. Were parents really allowed to access those? He doubted it. He bowed his head in greeting and greeted her just loud enough for her to hear.

She started reading off the paper without looking up at them; “Transferred school three times, reported for school violence on several occasions, held back one yea-“

Taekwoon’s breath stopped as he felt his father rise to an abrupt half-stand beside him, cutting her off. “That’s quite enough, Mrs. Jang!” His father said with a raised, aggravated voice. On Taekwoon’s other side his teacher moved a hand to his knee and squeezed, like a silent apology. He was sure that if he looked he would see it in his eyes as well, but he sat frozen in place. Mrs. Jang finally looked up from the paper, seemingly unmoved from his father’s words, while the principal gaped slightly but did not move. The room felt so incredibly tense, the air thick and hard to breathe.

“That information has nothing to do with this situation, Head Principal. We are simply here to apologize for an act of violence in school, not to be judged by fellow parents.” His father rose to a full stand and pointed to the paper with his finger. “That information is not something you have the right of access to Mrs. Jang, those are all past issues that have been dealt with.” He told her strictly. At the corner of his eye Taekwoon saw his teacher cringe quite visibly. Mrs. Jang’s eyes zeroed in on the finger not actually pointing at her, but as if it was, her eyebrow cocked as if not impressed.

“I’m not surprised there’s a problem with violence in this school when students like Taekwoon here are enrolled without question.” She said calmly, a hint of a smile on her face, obviously trying to be aggravating. The principal stuttered at the sudden blow in his direction, apparently not aware of the direction she had planned to take the meeting. Taekwoon stared at the table in front of him intensely; he was so sick of this. He felt the guilt towards his father boil within him like a painful cramp, making him hunch slightly. The hand still resting on his knee clenched almost painfully. His father huffed, the sound he always made when he was collecting himself in order to stay calm and sensible even though he was actually pissed off. It made Taekwoon glance around at the people in the room briefly. The principal had started fussing around Mrs. Jang, mumbling something they could not hear in her ear. She looked to be ignoring him completely, eyes trained on his father.

“My son protected a fellow student from your own son’s violent actions, Mrs. Jang. Since we are here to put this case to rest and forget this issue, this is really not the way to go.” His father stated calmly, sounding like he did when talking to a criminal at work. The flash of confusion on her face before she was able to recollect herself and the panicked look on the principal’s face gave away the situation; Mrs. Jang seemed to not be aware that her son was actually a culprit as well. Realization spread in the room slowly as they all became quiet in thought. Taekwoon’s father sat down again and folded his arms. Teacher Cha on his other side gasped quietly. With a look pleading for help, the principal turned to Teacher Cha and the hand on Taekwoon’s knee disappeared. The teacher folded his hands on the table in front of himself and leaned forward to look at the mother across from him.

“Mrs. Jang, it seems you are not aware that your son has frequently performed violent actions towards fellow students at this school, and without receiving any kind of consequence?” He said it so calmly and collected Taekwoon ended up looking at him in awe. He spoke as if she was a student that did not understand. A slight shock comes very clear on the mother’s face and she turns slowly to the side to look at the principal. The principal, who had seemingly been frozen in place in pure panic, finally spoke up, clearly shaken by the situation as his eyes flicker to the mother in front of him and away from her, then back and away again.

“TEACHER CHA.” He almost shrieked comically, then cleared his voice and calmed down his volume. “A word please.” He said and walked over to a door beside him, opening it and waiting for the other to come with him. “Yes, Head Principal.” The teacher answered and moved out of his seat and walked into the second meeting room with the principal. Beside Taekwoon his father leaned back in his seat smugly.

They sat in complete silence as they waited for the two men to return to the room; Taekwoon’s father once again on his phone texting, the woman across from them just staring at the door the men had disappeared behind. Taekwoon was pretty sure by now that this was not going the way it was planned at all. He was supposed to walk in, apologize, leave, the end. Feeling painfully rigid, he stared at his hands in his lap; fingers desperately picking at each other, scratching open tiny, small scabs. Beside him his father was typing furiously on his phone, not comfortable enough with his phone to be able to turn off the typing sound so it echoed through the room in loud ticks. He couldn’t help but wonder what he was writing to his mother; if he was raging about the situation or trying to soothe his mother about it. She always worried too much about Taekwoon ever since the incident at his first school.

 _“I’m sorry Mr. Jung, but we can simply not allow a student in Taekwoon’s particular situation to attend our school. It’s simply not good for our reputation. We hope you can understand.”_ They had told his father, and the next day he had been forcefully transferred; the entire escapade covered up as Taekwoon transferring to a less advanced school for not being able to keep his grades up to par. But they all knew the truth. His family, his classmates, the school staff; they all knew he was being shooed away for not being what was considered _normal._ It was a painful memory; the entire situation at his first high school, and he was still steeling himself to talk about it to Wonshik that same evening.

While lost in thought about how to express himself to his friend, the principal and teacher reentered the room, making him jump slightly in his seat as the door practically flew open. He saw his father almost loose the phone in his hands as well, immediately straightening in his seat and locking it, laying it face down on the table. Mrs. Jang shot up from her seat to stand as well, immediately approaching the principal, Mr. Cha jumping around her to make his way back to his seat with record speed.

“I demand you explain this messy situation to me Head Principal! What is this nonsense your teacher is talking about?” She sounds a lot more pissed off than she looked while waiting, Taekwoon mused. Meanwhile his teacher’s head popped in between him and his father and whispered hastily; “It seems the principal has been ordered by Mrs. Jang’s husband, Mr. Jang, to keep quiet about the violence.” He moved back to his seat right after getting a nod in confirmation from Taekwoon’s father that he heard what he said. Both he and Taekwoon himself frowned deeply, looking at each other for a moment while the teacher moves to sit down again.

“I assure you Mrs. Jang everything is under contr-“ The principal tried, but she waved him away.

“What do you mean by under control, that is clearly not the case!” She spoke loudly, but didn’t shout, her calm still there but sounding like it’s about to go out the window.

“Do we still have to apologize, Mr. Cha?” Taekwoon’s father leaned over behind his head and whispered at the teacher. Taekwoon turned his head to look at the teacher in interest.

“We will have to reschedule I’m afraid; this did not go as the Head Principal had planned, to say the least.” He had a hint of amusement at the corner of his mouth as he says it, but kept his mouth in a straight line. His father snorted slightly, but controlled his face before he reemerged from behind Taekwoon. They watched as the mother talks angrily with the principal, asking him why she had never heard about this before and so on. Taekwoon had to admit it was amusing to watch, but kept his face carefully blank. He felt less nervous now that he knew he didn’t have to do the apology that day, but it was still a little disappointing to not get it over with.

The principal talked Mrs. Jang into going into the meeting room with much effort, waving at Teacher Cha to proceed with whatever they had agreed upon in there earlier. He gave a short bow to Taekwoon’s father and closed the door behind him. With that as a queue Taekwoon’s teacher clasped his hands together once and got up from his seat. The two Jung’s turn in their chairs to look at him with identical looks on their faces, throwing the teacher off for a second at the stunning similarity they had at that very moment when they usually looked so different.

“I’m terribly sorry Mr. Jung, but I’m afraid we have to reschedule this meeting until further notice.” He said with a very official voice, as if he was holding a speech, all the while smiling a little amusedly. He actually winked before continuing; “If there will be necessary to have one at all, thanks to you.”

They looked at the man without saying anything, blinking, waiting for an explanation. The teacher blinked as well, apparently having expected a reaction. His smile faltered slightly.

“You- you helped me-“ He stuttered, but then he stopped himself. “Anyway; you can go now. I’ll give you a call when I know the result of whatever happens in that room tonight, Mr. Jung.” His smile returned and he motioned towards the exit. They moved to a stand and walked to the door hesitantly, both of them slightly confused. “Have a nice weekend, Taekwoon-ah!” He cheered and closed the door behind them when they were out of the room. Father and son looked at each other with puzzled faces.

“What just happened?” Taekwoon asked. His father shrugged and huffed a breathy chuckle. “I’m not sure, but I think I put a stop to your bully-problem.” He put a hand on Taekwoon’s shoulder and squeezed assuringly for a minute before walking down the hall, son right behind him.

“Where’s Wonshik? I was going to drive you guys, right?” He called over his shoulder.

\--

Wonshik felt like he had waited a very long time as the sun was long gone, his body basically cold to the core and his phone on emergency battery saving mode – not allowing him to play any music anymore. Bored to death; he lay on the table, head hanging off the edge so he could keep an eye on the door from upside down as he taps his foot to the table impatiently, mindlessly humming melodies he only half-remembered.

Suddenly the door burst open and Taekwoon stood there in all his tall and broad glory, and Wonshik almost decided he looked even better seen upside-down. Instead of being surprised, his heart rather jumped at the sight of the other. He burst into a big smile, lifting his arm and waving awkwardly considering the angle.

“Hey! You’re so late!” He called, but Taekwoon did not move from the door but rather waved hastily for Wonshik to come. “My dad’s waiting in the car!”

Wonshik scrambled to move, head a little woozy from the abrupt motions. He waddled a little towards the other, but Taekwoon caught an arm around his waist and – oh, he was warm – led him down the stairs. Clinging to the warmth; he leaned into the touch gingerly all the way to the car.

They separated to enter on each side of the car, both diving into the back seat and barely even having closed the doors when Mr. Jung started driving. He started working on his own seatbelt, but stopped when he realized Taekwoon was not doing the same. He tutted and leaned over the other, who jumped slightly at the unexpected action; looking at Wonshik with big, round eyes. He caught the seatbelt on the other’s side and dragged it out until it reached the other’s hand. He laid the seatbelt there and gave the other a tap on the thigh before settling back in his own seat and putting on his own seatbelt. As he did he heard the other release a breath he seemed to have been holding in and the click of a seatbelt being placed in the buckle. In the front Mr. Jung chuckled quietly, his eyes catching Wonshik’s in the rearview mirror when he looked up from the sound. The man smiled quickly and then focused back on the road, but it was enough to make Wonshik blush.


	11. Chapter 11

“Don’t forget your bag in the trunk.”

The sound of his father’s voice started Taekwoon out of the trance he had fallen into while staring out the window of the car. He blinked a couple of times, slowly realizing that they were outside of Wonshik’s garage – his late father’s former workplace. For a quick moment he thought that it had to be painful for Wonshik to see the empty garage every day; a constant reminder he was left to his own devices now. He looked to Wonshik by his side - he was also blinking confusedly from being awakened from slumber - and he felt himself worry for him. He was incredibly skinny and always tired – did he eat enough? Did he even eat anything but ramyun? All he wanted was for Wonshik to be okay.

He fumbled in the dark for the door handle, found it and opened the door with more effort than needed. He was exhausted; body heavy and mind hazy. He felt incredibly sensitive he realized; like a simple breeze would be enough to knock him over. His eyes flashed to his father before he exited the car entirely, but his eyes were fixed on Wonshik; a clear worry furrowing his brows. Taekwoon stepped out and turned to look at Wonshik again, and noticed he was rubbing himself as if he was cold. He rememberd he had been waiting on the roof the whole time Taekwoon was in the meeting, and the evening had been uncharacteristically cold for a late spring.

“Cold?” He asked him and a slight start in Wonshik’s body was visible before he turned to Taekwoon with an apologetic smile and then a nod – then more rubbing of his arms. The car was warm, but it didn’t seem to have helped much.

“Let’s go inside.” He said and closed the car door, moving to get his bag in the trunk. He had packed it in the morning and left it in the car when his father drove him to school in the morning. Change of clothes, some CD’s and his computer; all he needed for two nights away from home.

Wonshik came around to meet him after stepping out of the car, still hugging himself for warmth. Taekwoon grabbed an extra jacket that was left behind in the car sometime in the early spring and never carried into the apartment, a black and thick bomber jacket he usually wore all winter, and tossed it around Wonshik’s shoulders. The other looked at him a little puzzled for a moment, before instantly feeling the warmth of the thick jacket and then immediately embracing it, not bothering to put his arms into the sleeves. The jacket was a little big on him and made him look smaller.

“Thanks.” Wonshik gave a small, shy smile with his tiny pouting lips and Taekwoon felt his heart ache, unable to look away for a moment – only to be interrupted by his father calling.

“Wonshik!” They both snapped out of the quiet moment they had and Wonshik immediately trotted around the car to the driver’s side and the open window Taekwoon’s father was leaning out of - eyes lingering a little on Taekwoon as he passed him. Taekwoon sucked a deep breath, calming himself before finally reaching for his bag and closing the trunk. He walked up to Wonshik and saw his father hand him some money, Wonshik very hesitantly taking them with both hands respectfully.

“It’s late so order in some pizza for both of you tonight, ok?” He heard his father say and Wonshik answered yes using honorifics, making his father chuckle quietly. He leaned further out of the car window to look at Taekwoon.

“Don’t worry about anything and just have fun this weekend, Taekwoon-ah, Mr. Cha and I will take care of everything.” He assured him and sat back in his seat after Taekwoon nodded in answer. The window slid up and the two boys waved the car goodbye together.

“Let’s go inside.” Taekwoon said and gave Wonshik’s shoulder a slight push with his own as he turned around, bag in hand, and walked towards the dark garage. The other turned at the push and quickly caught up with him to lead the way. They walked through a normal door placed within the slide-up garage gate and Wonshik took hold of Taekwoon’s wrist tenderly, a very light touch that made his skin tickle, in order to lead him through the darkness along the wall until they reached a set of stairs and a light switch. He turned on a small light placed above a door Taekwoon assumed was the entrance of the actual apartment at the top of the stairs, and let go of the wrist to climb the narrow staircase.

“It’s really messy and stuff… sorry about that.” Wonshik mumbled when they entered the apartment, Taekwoon setting down his bag and taking off his shoes as Wonshik just kicks off his and shuffles around to turn on several lights around the room. Looking around Taekwoon saw a similar apartment solution to his own; a combined livingroom and kitchen, the dining table the center of attention in the room with a big lamp above it. With the exception of the dinner table being covered in papers, mail and some take-out boxes, the room was pretty much spotless.

“Looks fine to me.” He told him as he stepped up from the entrance and onto the floor with a pair of slippers he found by the door.

Wonshik stressed around a little, clearly not knowing what to do with himself first with Taekwoon there. Taekwoon’s jacket was still around his shoulders, warming his cold body slowly but efficiently. He’s suddenly reminded of the cash Taekwoon’s father had given him and hurried over to the kitchen table to scurry through all the mess he had lying there; mail for his father, papers for him to become an independent, flyers for takeout and so on. He finally found the only one for pizza he had and raised it triumphantly. Taekwoon looked at him blankly, now across from him at the table.

“Pizza?” He asked cheerfully and felt his stomach rumble at the mere thought of food. He had not eaten since lunchtime at school, which was several hours ago. Taekwoon nodded. “I’ll order, you go take a warm shower.” He commanded and reached out over the table for the flyer. He took it out of Wonshik’s hold before he could protest, his breath caught in his throat about to say he was okay.

“What kind of pizza do you like?” He asked on, and Wonshik pushed away his excuses in favor of hunger. A nice, warm shower sounded pretty good after all.

“Potato and bacon.” He said and Taekwoon nodded, already ready with his phone in hand and reading off the flyer. Wonshik lingered and Taekwoon looked up after dialing the number on his phone. His thumb hovered over the call button. “Go shower.” Taekwoon said simply and Wonshik shot away so quickly he heard a chuckle behind him as he entered the bathroom – which made him smile.

\--

Taekwoon looked around the apartment as he waited for the phone call to go through. It was an aged and worn apartment, all the furniture looking old-fashioned, but his eyes stopped on a certain device resting on the kitchen countertop; a brand new, black and shiny coffeemaker. Butterflies whirled around in his stomach and he couldn’t help but smile stupidly, a hand coming up to hide it from nobody. The call went through and he stumbled to answer the worker on the other side of the line.

While he talked to the worker - giving the order and address - he wandered over to the coffeemaker and let his fingers caress it with feather-like touches, as if he would make it less shiny if he actually touched too much. He ended the call and set his phone down on the counter, and then noticed a bag of coffee beside the machine. Shocking himself, he heard himself giggle and turned dark red immediately at the sound he just made. Fanning himself, he turned around and leaned on the counter – legs suddenly feeling a little weak. Nobody but family had thought of him to this extent and done something solely for his sake before, and the overwhelming feeling it gave him was all but ruining him. He was so relieved Wonshik could not see him.

A moment after Wonshik stepped out of the bathroom, hair still a little wet and his school uniform replaced by a grey pair of comfy-looking sweatpants and a loose, white t-shirt. A winking cartoon was printed on the t-shirt and Taekwoon stared at it as if it was mocking him as he tried to contain his feelings at the sudden appearance of the other. Wonshik looked so soft and warm; Taekwoon had to grip the kitchen counter hard to hold himself back from hugging the other tightly and tell him about all the stress he had endured that day. Instead he avoided Wonshik’s eyes, huffed and leaned his entire weight onto the counter.

“Pizza is on its way.” He said.

“Do you want to shower too? Or at least change out of your uniform?” Wonshik asked, walking over to him. Taekwoon’s heart rate picked up as he came closer, still coming down from the feelings that had welled over at the sight of the coffeemaker. He heard himself gasp a little, and he cursed internally at his inability to hide his struggle from the world. Trying to stay normal, he nodded and pushed himself away from the counter and walked away the opposite way of Wonshik – towards the entrance of the apartment where his bag was waiting. “I’ll take a shower.” He was able to announce.

“There are towels under the sink.” Wonshik answered and Taekwoon hurried into the bathroom with his bag in hand, letting out a breath he had been holding the moment he closed the door behind him.

“Pull yourself together, Taekwoon.” He muttered to himself, hitting his own chest with a fist – where his heart was still beating so painfully. He hated how recently just about anything Wonshik did brought out such reactions from him and how hard it was not to show it to the other. He wanted to come clean before showing him how stupid he became around him.

 _All in good time. All in good time._ He chanted in his mind and got undressed to shower.

\--

When Taekwoon stepped out of the shower a couple of minutes later, Wonshik was on the phone and pizza still not arrived.

“Yeah, Mr. Jung gave us money for pizza.” He talked into the phone, standing in the kitchen and leaning on a kitchen counter. “Yeah, he was really nice.” Wonshik looked up at the sound of Taekwoon’s slippers and smiled at him warmly. “That’s really awesome, Teach.” Taekwoon’s eyebrows shot up at that.

 _Mr. Cha?_  

He looked at Wonshik with a questioning eyebrow raised but Wonshik didn’t notice, once again looking at the floor while he talked. “Okay, I’ll see you on Monday.” Taekwoon walked up to him and leaned onto the counter beside him, waiting for the phone call to end. “Yeah, I promise. Bye.” He ended and hung up the phone, then looked back up at Taekwoon.

“Teach?” Taekwoon asked, hand motioning towards his phone on pure reflex – barely visible. Wonshik nodded. “Yeah, he was checking in on me.” Wonshik smiled at that and Taekwoon could see he was touched by it, as well as a little sad? He looked sad somehow. Knowing Wonshik; he was probably feeling guilty.

“Does he call often?” He asked softly, head leaned in the direction of Wonshik beside him but not actually looking at him. He didn’t want to stare and make him uncomfortable, no matter how much he wanted to look at his face.

“Almost every night, if he doesn’t come over.” He sounded guilty again, which made Taekwoon feel bad for him. He seemed to feel guilty about so many things he shouldn’t. He wish he could make him stop somehow. Oh, what he would do for such a power.

“I didn’t realize you and Teach were this close.” He leaned over so his shoulder connected with Wonshik’s. “I’m glad.” He continued.

“Yeah, he worries about me a lot. We usually talk when he comes over with food.” Wonshik leaned back into Taekwoon’s shoulder, pushing him back slightly and making Taekwoon snort slightly.

“He comes with food?”

“Yeah, his Mom and sister makes it. It’s really good.” Wonshik turned to look at him, but Taekwoon couldn’t look back, just kept staring at the floor as the muscles around his mouth twitched to try make him smile.

The doorbell rang and they both sprang up away from each other and to a stand, Wonshik hurrying out of the entrance door and into the garage wearing a pair of slippers.

Soon they were settled in the three-seated couch of the two couches located in the livingroom, cross-legged and facing each other with the pizza box resting in the seat between them, eating pizza resting on napkins in their hands. Both of them had been pretty starving, so they sat in silence as they wolfed down their first pieces of pizza. It was only after the first piece of pizza was consumed with a sip of the free cola they had received with it that Wonshik spoke.

“Teach told me you didn’t have to apologize today.”

Taekwoon nodded; mouth already full of a piece of his second slice. Wonshik waited as he chewed, Taekwoon taking his time before swallowing.

“Yeah.”

Wonshik waited a little longer for Taekwoon to elaborate, all the while nibbling on his second slice as well, but he just kept eating pizza. “And…?” He hinted.

“I might have to apologize later, but Teach said not to worry about it.” Taekwoon finally continued. “I’m not exactly sure what he did, really.” He shrugged, Wonshik sighed.

“I’m really glad you didn’t have to do it.” He said softly, pausing his eating. Taekwoon looked at him then; the slight guilt in his eyes paired with genuine relief.

“Either way it’s not your fault. Don’t feel so guilty about it.” Taekwoon assured him. He felt like he had to remind him a million times more because Wonshik just wouldn’t listen to him. He tried to make eye contact as he said it, to be extra convincing, but Wonshik had slumped over to look at his own hands – both head and shoulders hanging. Taekwoon laid down his third slice without starting on it in favor of looking at Wonshik.

“I mean it, Wonshik.” He tried again and he could see the other chew on his lip. Frustration ate at Taekwoon for not being able to completely convince him immediately.

“Sometimes I feel like a cursed child.” Wonshik finally murmured with clear difficulty after minutes of unmoving silence between them. It made Taekwoon’s chest hurt. A lot. He wished so desperately that Wonshik would think better of himself. If only he could show Wonshik how he looked like through his eyes.

“To me you’re anything but cursed.” He said calmly. Softly. Wonshik finally looked up to that, revealing the wet eyes he had been hiding by hanging his head. The emotion in Wonshik’s eyes made his heart pace up and heat coiled within him – spreading through his chest and to his cheeks. What he just said was not very subtle, he realized, but Wonshik didn’t seem to mind.

He realized if there was any suitable time for him to tell Wonshik about himself; this was it.

“I…” He started, but his throat was dry and his voice cracked slightly. He cleared his throat. “I need to tell you something.” His fingers started picking at each other, finding the newly healed scabs from earlier and reopening them. Suddenly hyper-aware; he heard every sound around him. Wonshik’s breathing, the traffic outside, the humming fridge, the aircondition…

“What is it?” Wonshik said so softly he probably could manage with that gruff voice of his, and it felt assuring. Yes, Wonshik is safe.

“My past.” He stated. He let out a slightly shaky breath. Where was he even supposed to begin?

“This is not the only time I have transferred schools.” His voice was slightly shaky and he hated it. Hated how difficult it was to tell someone about what had happened. Even to someone like Wonshik, which he was so sure would understand and accept him anyway.

“It’s actually my third transfer.”

“Really?” Wonshik said then, but there was nothing but slight surprise in his voice.

“What happened?”

“Uhm…” His voice shook even more and he clenched his fists in annoyance, huffing. Why couldn’t he just say it out straight? He took a deep breath once again, closing his eyes as well, and tried to clear himself from everything. Wonshik waited patiently across from him, pizza forgotten.

“At my first school I had a really good friend who I played soccer with every day.” He started, relieved that his voice finally sounded even. “In the end I confessed to him, but…” He paused a moment to take another deep breath. “The reaction wasn’t very good.”

Taekwoon couldn’t make himself look up from his hands to check Wonshik’s reaction, but instead he heard an understanding hum. Assured, he continued. “Basically he told everyone there was to tell and I was forced to transfer for being gay. They covered it up by blaming it on my poor grades.”

With no further comment or reaction from the other, he continued on to get it all over with once and for all.

“It resulted in me being held back a year, then I started attending a new school earlier this year. Angry at the world and everything I got force-transferred from that school as well on the grounds of school violence.” He heard the other inhale rather sharply.

“It was more or less self-defense.” He tried to clarify. That was it, really, no big deal. He told himself that, but he had yet to see Wonshik’s reaction.

Taekwoon couldn’t make himself look up at him for some reason, his eyes trained on his hands as his fingernails worked on a new scab. The scab he had worked on finally snapped open and he started to bleed. He heard a gasp, then the box of pizza in front of him was suddenly gone and Wonshik’s hands were on his.

“Please stop, you’re bleeding.” Wonshik’s voice was rough, but not angry. He held Taekwoon’s hands apart. Taekwoon felt like a seal had been broken within him and he finally looked up and into Wonshik’s eyes. The kind eyes he wanted to look at all the time if only he could. They were wet still, but he had not shed any tears. Wonshik’s eyes flashed down to his finger and he wiped away the tiny drop of blood that had surfaced, and Taekwoon flinched because is stung.

“I’m a mess.” Taekwoon whispered. Wonshik’s eyes flashed back to look into his and his right hand came up to cup Taekwoon’s cheek. He inhaled, surprised, and his heart galloped as small and soft lips met his in a careful kiss. A stunned second later he reacted and kissed back, head leaning into the hand on his cheek.

It was a short and sweet kiss, but he gasped slightly nonetheless when their lips parted. His eyes had closed upon contact, and when he opened them again Wonshik was looking at him with more determination Taekwoon had ever seen him have.

“Your mess is mine now. If you’ll let me.”

It was more than enough reason for Taekwoon to lean back in and catch Wonshik’s lips for another, deeper kiss, making Wonshik moan softly into his mouth – and his entire being felt as if he was on fire.

\--

Wonshik had believed for the longest time that there was something terribly wrong with him. He had never thought much of it as a child; the fact that he was attracted to boys and not girls. But one day someone – he could no longer recall who exactly – had told him that was impossible. The older he became, the more he heard it; men could only like women.

That meant he was wrong.

So he told nobody. Not even his mother, or his beloved stepfather. He had planned on keeping his secret buried forever and just live a life alone.

But then; into his life came Taekwoon.

Taekwoon with that small, shy smile of his and all the care he gave Wonshik. Attention he had not received from anyone outside of his family before.

He had long believed love hit people like a freight train. With Taekwoon it had sneaked into him like a hidden ninja, only to plant a poisoned arrow directly into his heart. The sweetest kind of poison. It was not until he heard Taekwoon’s laugh for the first time that time in the classroom that he realized it had spread through his entire being without him even noticing it.

Feeling like he had nothing to lose; he let the sweet poison take over.

And then; Taekwoon sitting in front of him, telling him that he was just as broken. Or did it mean that they both were not really broken? It did not matter anymore.

He was no longer alone.

 

\- The End -


End file.
